One champion of abstinence-only told Congressional Quarterly that "it clearly would end abstinence education almost immediately." We've known for a while that abstinence-only programs were riddled with inaccuracies. Indeed, the whole program is based on premises that have no basis in science or medicine. If the program is so dependent on inaccuracy, shouldn't it be shut down immediately?
For many conservatives, the answer is no. They actually support spending taxpayer dollars on providing young people with misinformation about sex and contraceptives. See, their agenda is not only to encourage young people to remain sexually abstinent. They want to discourage young people from using birth control once they do become sexually active. They're not interested in helping to prevent teen pregnancy and the spread of disease: they want sexually active young people to suffer harmful consequences. They believe they have it coming.
We don't though. And neither does Sen. Frank Lautenberg who has offered this amendment to ensure medical accuracy in federally funded programs. If you agree, take a minute to call your Senators at 202-224-3121 (that's the U.S. Senate switchboard, just ask for your senators by name when you call and you'll be connected) and urge them to support the Lautenberg amendment. Or, you can click here and send an email message to each of your senators.
