Reject Abstinence-only funding... again!

The Ohio Senate has, once again, inserted a provision in their version of the state budget bill that would require the Ohio Department of Health to apply for federal abstinence-only funds.

These are the same funds that Gov. Strickland rejected in 2007, saying that “focusing exclusively on abstinence is contrary to a comprehensive educational approach.”

“I believe in a comprehensive approach," Strickland said. "I think, obviously, abstinence should be a part of any education curriculum, but I think young people need to be educated in ways that can protect their health and their safety."

Gov. Ted Strickland

“Abstinence-only sex ed may get cut, but not without a fight”

Dayton Daily News

March 21, 2007

We must not allow the Ohio legislature to force a failed program on our young people anymore!

Please contact the Senate President, House Speaker, and the members of the state budget conference committee and remind them that evidence shows that an “abstinence-only” approach is a failed approach.  Insist that they remove the requirement that the state apply for federal abstinence-only funds.

Studies show that abstinence-only programs don’t reduce the number of teen pregnancies or sexually transmitted infections.

In the last decade, more than $1 billion has been wasted on dangerous abstinence-only programs that deny teenagers life-saving information.

Teenagers need to know how to protect themselves against unintended pregnancy and HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.  They need the right information to make responsible decisions.

Tell the state legislature that abstinence-only does not work.  Demand that any requirement that Ohio apply for federal abstinence-only funds be stricken from the state budget.

Multiple peer-reviewed studies have found that comprehensive sexuality education programs that teach teens about abstinence, contraception and disease control are effective at delaying onset of intercourse, reducing the frequency of intercourse, reducing the number of sexual partners, and increasing condom and contraceptive use.

Douglas Kirby, Ph.D. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

“Emerging Answers: 2007” November 2007.

A 2007 Quinnipiac University poll found that 71% of Ohio voters (81% for voters who have kids in school) felt that the best approach to sex education in Ohio's schools is to focus equally on abstinence as well as the value of condoms and contraception use.

www.quinnipiac.edu/x1322.xml?ReleaseID=1063

summary can be found on page 16 of this document

A Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 98% of parents want their children to learn about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, and more than 85% believe teens need to have accurate information on birth control and how to protect themselves.

Sex Education in America: A View from Inside the Nation’s Classrooms, Kaiser Family Foundation, September 2000 (http://www.kff.org/youthhivstds/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID=13531)

Last year, the CDC released results of a study estimating that 26% of American girls between the ages of 14 and 19 - 3.2 million teenage girls - are infected with at least one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases.  Even more shocking, the study also found that nearly half of the young African-American women (48 percent) were infected with an STI.

http://www.cdc.gov/stdconference/2008/media/release-11march2008.pdf

In addition, comprehensive sexuality education saves money for Ohio’s taxpayers.

Teens that have children are much less likely to finish high school and are more likely to be victims of abuse.  They are also more likely to receive public assistance.  81% of unmarried women who have children before the age of 20 are on welfare within 10 years.

Paul Offner. “Welfare reform and teenage girls,” Social Sciences Quarterly, 2005, 26(2): 306-322.

Teens are more likely to have preterm babies.  Preterm children are one of Medicaid’s costliest populations.  These costs can be prevented with funding for birth control.  Nationally, for every $1 spent on the family planning program, $4.02 is saved in averted Medicaid birth costs.  In Ohio, the savings is $4.70 for every $1 spent on the family planning program.

Frost, Jennifer J., et al. “The Impact of Publicly Funded Family Planning Clinic Services on Unintended Pregnancies and Government Cost Savings,” Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 19 (2008): 778–796.