Healthy Respect Media Release

Politics vs. Common Sense

January 26, 2009 -- The healthy, common-sense message of abstinence until marriage will soon become a political football as the debate in Washington over abstinence education heats up under the new administration. As usual, it is children who stand to suffer.

Even before Barack Obama was sworn in as our nation's 44th president, the abstinence vs. "comprehensive" sex-ed debate hit the national news cycle. Advocates of "comprehensive" sex-ed, which stresses condoms and contraceptives for teens, began a media campaign designed to end funding of abstinence programs in schools and communities, claiming that the programs do not work.

The federal government provided about $176 million annually for abstinence programs under the Bush administration.

Critics cite flawed studies that purport to show the failure of the abstinence message, yet they never address the proven success abstinence programs have shown in delaying first sexual experience. They also condemn programs as giving a negative message on sex, whereas most programs seek to build character and empower young people to make healthy choices that will help them succeed in life.

Cutting funds at a time when many abstinence programs are showing repeated success would be a loss for teens, said Dr. Nanci Coppola, Executive Director of Healthy Respect, which works with public school students in Yonkers, New York.

"Character-based abstinence until marriage programs are relatively new to federal funding yet they are already showing significant success in delaying first sexual experience and changing attitudes of teenagers about the risks of sex before marriage," Dr. Coppola said. "It would be unfortunate for the teens if well-funded lobbyists convinced the new administration to impose one model of sex education while cutting the healthy, common sense message of abstinence until marriage."