States refusing grants for abstinence education

Defending abstinence education
Some states' officials do speak favorably of the program.

In Georgia, some 250,000 students have participated in abstinence education since 2000 through schools, church groups and nonprofit agencies.

Teachers in Georgia go beyond the abstinence message. They stress community service and doing better in school, said Jen Bennecke, executive director of the governor's office for children and families. Bennecke says the program has led to an almost a 50 percent drop in pregnancy rates for Georgia youth ages 15-17 since the mid-90s.

"We really see abstinence education as a clear, concise and positive message," Bennecke said. "We've presented it as a healthy lifestyle choice."

The abstinence-only grants have been controversial from the start.

Supporters say comprehensive sex education sends a mixed message and that abstinence is the only method that is 100 percent effective in preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. Critics say abstinence education simply doesn't stop teens from having sex, and those teens need more information about how to reduce pregnancy and disease.

In April 2007, a federally funded study of four abstinence-only programs by Mathematica Policy Research Inc., found that participants had just as many sexual partners as nonparticipants and had sex at the same median age as nonparticipants. The four programs had taught students about human anatomy and sexually transmitted diseases, helped them improve their communication skills, manage peer pressure, set personal goals and build self-esteem.

‘No useful purpose’
For Colorado, the study results sealed the decision to get out of the program. Dr. Ned Calonge, the state's chief medical officer, said Mathematica's methods were the gold standard for scientific studies.

"To show no benefit compared to nothing. That was striking," Calonge said. "These are tax dollars that are going for no useful purpose, and it would not be responsible for us to take those dollars."

Under the program, states have to put up $3 for every $4 they get from the federal government. The program, referred to as Title V, is one of three abstinence education programs funded by the federal government. Of the $50 million budgeted for the program this year, about $21 million has been distributed.

Koutstaal said the study was instructive on how to improve the program, but it wasn't a signal to scrap it. The study, he noted, focused on middle school children and tracked behavior at the high school level.

"One thing we learned from it was that it may not be enough to do something in middle school and expect that you're going to continue to see positive outcomes in high school," Koutstaal said.

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As a result, applicants seeking abstinence education funding through another government program, called Community Based Abstinence Education, are required to show how they will serve high school students and how they will help young people deal with peer pressure.

Longtime critics of abstinence-only education say the dwindling participation is a signal that Congress should abolish the program or change it.

"If Congress isn't getting that message, it's difficult to figure out what will convince them," said William Smith, vice president for public policy at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.

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