Bush wants to spend $170 million on abstinence only education programs in our schools. According to widespread reports:
Some federally funded abstinence programs are spreading misinformation to teenage participants, a new congressional report has found.Among the misleading information taught to youngsters over the past three years: Abortion can lead to sterility and suicide, half of gay male teens in the United States have the AIDS virus, and touching a person's genitals can lead to pregnancy, according to an account of the report by the Washington Post.
The report, prepared by the staff of Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), reviews 13 of the most commonly used curricula among the federally funded abstinence programs. The study found that two of the curricula were accurate, but 11 others contained subjective conclusions or "outright falsehoods," the newspaper reported.
Among other misleading statements cited by the study: A 43-day-old fetus is a thinking person, the AIDS virus can be spread by sweat and tears, and condoms fail to prevent the spread of the AIDS virus as often as 31 percent of the time during heterosexual sex.
President Bush's budget next year includes $170 million for abstinence-only programs, the Post said.
Lovely.
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