When did telling kids to wait until marriage to have sex become so taboo? The irony of which can't be lost in this sex-crazed "Sex In The City" society we live in. Carrie and Miranda can casually mix-in talk about oral sex over a martini, but mentioning the A-word (abstinence) sets off alarm bells among the special interests opposed to federally sponsored abstinence education programs. The rhetoric has reached a fever pitch as of late, as Congress weighs whether to re-authorize $190 million to keep the federal Title V abstinence program alive. (It's been extended at least twice since its initial expiration date last year, but is set to expire again on June 30.) Many Democrats have vowed to kill it. The liberal Guttmacher Institute has proclaimed that increasing funding for abstinence-only programs is putting teens "at risk." At risk for what? You better watch out little Suzy, you know what happens when you don't have sex, you might not catch something. Pretty absurd. The same kind of overactive rhetoric these youth activists accuse abstinence groups of. Of course they don't tell you that the government spends about $12 on comprehensive sex ed and contraceptives for every $1 it spends on abstinence education. It's a drop in the bucket compared to spending that gives kids the "green light" to shower together naked.
June 3, 2008
