WASHINGTON, April 23 (Reuters) - Programs teaching U.S. schoolchildren to abstain from sex have not cut teen pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases or delayed the age at which sex begins, health groups told Congress on Wednesday.

The Bush administration, however, voiced continuing support for such programs during a hearing before a House of Representatives panel even as many Democrats called for cutting off federal money for so-called abstinence-only instruction.

"Vast sums of federal monies continue to be directed toward these programs. And, in fact, there is evidence to suggest that some of these programs are even harmful and have negative consequences by not providing adequate information for those teens who do become sexually active," Dr. Margaret Blythe of the American Academy of Pediatrics told the committee.

These programs, backed by many social conservatives who oppose the teaching of contraception methods to teenagers in schools, have received about $1.3 billion in federal funds since the late 1990s. Currently, 17 of the 50 U.S. states refuse to accept federal funds for such programs.

Experts from the American Public Health Association and U.S. Institute of Medicine testified that scientific studies have not found that abstinence-only teaching works to cut pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases or the age when sexual activity begins.

The American Psychological Association and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also issued statements to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform criticizing the abstinence-only programs.

Comprehensive sex education programs should emphasize abstinence as the best way for a teenager to avoid pregnancy or a sexually transmitted disease (STD), Blythe said.

"Those adolescents who choose to abstain from sexual intercourse should obviously be encouraged and supported in their decisions by their families, peers and communities. But abstinence should not be the only strategy that is discussed," Blythe said.

HIGH STD RATES

Lawmakers cited government statistics showing that one in four U.S. teenage girls has a sexually transmitted disease and 30 percent of U.S. girls become pregnant before the age of 20.

http://www.reuters.com/article/lates...3459576?rpc=64

Ohh so now 20 is the bench mark? Last I checked 18 you were considered an adult.

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The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd. Indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.

-Bertrand Russell

Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are more pliable

-Laurence J. Peters

I never said that you had no right to have an opinion. I just said that it was, in fact, worth nothing.

-Maineman ( on 12 June 2007)

WTF does that even mean in the context of the article? It's better to have people wonder why you did not speak instead of why you did.

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No one ever asks whether the glass is too big!

There is only one reason to include 18 and 19 year olds in the statistic for getting pregnant, and that is because it gives them a bigger number to work with. 18 and 19 are ADULTS, might as well pick some other random number to include in the argument.

__________________
The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd. Indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.

-Bertrand Russell

Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are more pliable

-Laurence J. Peters

I never said that you had no right to have an opinion. I just said that it was, in fact, worth nothing.

-Maineman ( on 12 June 2007)

The article discussed the efficacy of abstinence-only sexual education. The Lawmakers didn't do an independent study; they cited available government statistics. Studies for teenage pregnancy and STDs measure data up to the age of 20.

But that is relevant to the efficacy of the program, because performance beyond high school reflects on what you learned in high school. Had the kids been given good information in school, they wouldn't be screwing up as much at ages 18 and 19.

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No one ever asks whether the glass is too big!

Sure thing. Don't you mean screwing as much at 18 and 19?

__________________
The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd. Indeed in view of the silliness of the majority of mankind, a widespread belief is more likely to be foolish than sensible.

-Bertrand Russell

Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are more pliable

-Laurence J. Peters

I never said that you had no right to have an opinion. I just said that it was, in fact, worth nothing.

-Maineman ( on 12 June 2007)

Uhuh Isa wunder ifa awll thisa here educasion creatted brot about girls gown stoopid to???????????

Litle darlins justa caint seem to keep thar close own anymore..............or figger out who thar sposed ta be fuckin'

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A wink's as good as a nod to a BLIND MAN ! :usa:

RGS, the entire purpose of this nonworking program is too keep babies from being born outside of marriage.

I thought that's what the fifty million baby genocide was all about..............I wish girls could make up their minds...................AND USE A FREAKIN' PICKLE!

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A wink's as good as a nod to a BLIND MAN ! :usa:

The article mentions teenagers. Whether you are considered an Adult or a Minor if you are 19 you are still a teenager.

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-De Oppresso Liber

Don't mind him...he just thinks it's very mean to say old men have to stop raping young girls in the name of religion so is going to try to offtrack the thread...it deals with teenagers and sex, after all.

It's clear that Abstinence Only is a failure. But we've known that for a long time.

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"Trust none of what you hear And less of what you see" Springsteen

When the Founding Fathers protected our right to free speech, I think that meant we were supposed to use it.

Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi was the world's most unhinged lunatic. He's now dead. So that moves Ann Coulter up to first place - David Letterman

O, when she is angry she is keen and shrewd; / She was a vixen when she went to school, / And though she be but little, she is fierce. — Shakespeare

51 days left http://www.backwardsbush.com/

Wonder how much money was spent for how long for these "geniuses" to figure this one out? And how much of that money were my tax dollars at "work."

Expecting abstinence to work in a society that exploits and over-glorifies sex is just kind of dumb.

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“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” - Edmund Burke

What's really dumb is trying to set social policy without valid information, and pointless grumbling about the cost necessary to collect that information.

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No one ever asks whether the glass is too big!

Perhaps you don't care what your tax dollars are spent on, but I do happen to care in regard to mine.

Since social policy is an ever-changing thing, and pretty much set by what is and is not accepted by society and not some arbitrary line in the sand drawn by some egghead, what exactly is there to set?

If the threat of AIDS and other STDs isn't enough to set social policy for our oversexed society, the individuals that make up that society will pay the consequences for their choices.

I personally have never had a piece of ass so good I was willing to play Russian roulette with my life over it. But if you have, power to you. Enjoy.

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“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” - Edmund Burke

i dunno.


ask a republican who not only forced this kind of "values" issue but ignored the failure rate long enough to wave a bible around.