It’s not news that the Bush administration doesn’t want teenagers to think about sex, much less do the deed. (It’s spent $1 billion on abstinence-only programs already—see “Virginity for Sale” in the current issue of Mother Jones.) But now it’s encouraging grown adults not to go there, either. From today’s USA Today:
Now the government is targeting unmarried adults up to age 29 as part of its abstinence-only programs, which include millions of dollars in federal money that will be available to the states under revised federal grant guidelines for 2007. [snip]
But Wade Horn, assistant secretary for children and families at the Department of Health and Human Services, said the revision is aimed at 19- to 29-year-olds because more unmarried women in that age group are having children. [snip]
“The message is ‘It’s better to wait until you’re married to bear or father children,’ ” Horn said. “The only 100% effective way of getting there is abstinence.”
Certainly, a 23-year-old can’t be trusted to figure out contraception. And, let’s not forget that avoiding sex before marriage will save you not just from premature parenthood but a host of other ills (to quote one federally-funded abstinence curriculum):
“Infertility, isolation, jealousy, poverty, heartbreak, substance abuse, AIDS, pregnancy, cervical cancer, genital herpes, unstable long-term commitments, depression, embarrassment, meaningless wedding, sexual violence, personal disappointment, suicide, feelings of being used, loss of honesty, loneliness, loss of personal goals, distrust of others, pelvic inflammatory disease, loss of reputation, fear of pregnancy, disappointed parents, loss of self-esteem…”
Can’t wait to see the educational materials that will be coming out of the Don’t Sleep With Anyone Before 30 campaign.
