HHS Study Proves Abstinence Ed Works; blocked by Obama

Rick Santorum describes his "Made in America" economic plan. 

My daughter Gabriela is attending a local Community College to pick up her pre-nursing requirements. Among the required courses is Developmental Psychology. As a former Social Work and Psychology major, I warned her that these professors are likely to be liberal ideologues. I was right, the other day, her prof was railing against abstinence programs which 'don't work'. She did not offer her students one shred of evidence to prove her point, but continually insisted that abstinence education and chastity rings are a waste of time. To her credit, my daughter raised her hand and said "I took a vow of chastity and wear a ring". The professor was stunned at her admission and apologized for insulting her, but did not acknowledge that she has a point. I would wager that no one has EVER had the audacity to contradict this position in class before! I am so proud of my daughter, for her outspokenness, and her intelligent decision to follow not only the teachings of the Church, but the smart way to keep her future bright. She is a winner!

Science is of course on the side of those who recommend abstinence until marriage. Liberals may know this, but they'd rather die than admit it, and anyone who dares say it is vilified and humiliated. I was when I dared speak up for abstinence in a public high school on Long Island in 1995 where a good number of my poor minority students were pregnant or post-abortive. I saw firsthand the devastating effect of sexuality on young people whose lives were challenging enough in the ghetto, just getting to school safely and finding a quiet place to study after school. Now thanks to the impact of Planned Parenthood in the schools and on the minds of their social workers and teachers, they were dealing with babies, emotional breakups, the physical and emotional wreckage of post abortion syndrome. No wonder so few graduated high school!

Forty eight news outlets were at St Anselm at Sanorum's talk. 

An excellent article confirms the efficacy of abstinence education from Life Site News:

The study’s success reassured Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association (NAEA). “This new study adds to 22 other peer reviewed studies showing SRA [Sexual Risk Avoidance] education has a positive impact on student sexual behavior,” she said. “This rigorous research design adds an important exclamation point to the efficacy of abstinence-centered education.”
Meanwhile, researchers say the Obama administration stonewalled releasing another report that showed abstinence attitudes positively impact teens. In 2009, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), a division of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), funded a study of more than 1,000 young people aged 12-18 but refused to release the results until 2011, even following a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. It found that parental and peer attitudes do more to shape teens’ views of sex and abstinence than “adolescent exposure to sex and abstinence topics in a class or program.”
“Their anti-abstinence position is just as political, if not more so, than the pro-abstinence position of conservatives,” Sprigg told LifeSiteNews. “The liberals often claim it is conservatives who are anti-science, but when the research and the science goes against their ideological position, they are very eager to suppress the findings.”
“Anyone who opposes SRA abstinence-centered education must be honest in their antagonism,” Huber stated. “They can no longer say that the approach ‘doesn’t work,’ but must admit that their opposition is simply an ideological distaste for programs that encourage teens to wait for sex.”

Leticia in front of ABC news debate set in NH in January. 

Rick Santorum, during an economic summit at St Anselm College last January, pointed out what this article maintains, that abstinence education works, but it is being suppressed by the Obama Administration. Forty eight news outlets were present, none of which reported on his hour long treatise on economics, instead focusing on this topic, leveling vicious criticism on him for pointing out that abstinence lead to healthy marriages and families, strong families lead to a healthy economy. Thus he became a lightning rod for vitriol from the left and unjustly branded as a fire-breathing wing nut within  the GOP establishment.
Santorum was merely insightful and courageous enough to point out the obvious, the root problem in this nation is the wreckage caused by the sexual revolution, a dependency society created when 41%of  our nation's children are born out of wedlock, compared to 5% in 1960. He too used science to bolster his point, citing a Brookings Institute Study that linked poverty with out of wedlock births. 

Since 1970, out-of-wedlock birth rates have soared. In 1965, 24 percent of black infants and 3.1 percent of white infants were born to single mothers. By 1990 the rates were 64 percent for black infants, 18 percent for whites. Every year one million more children are born into fatherless families. If we have learned any policy lesson well over the past 25 years, it is that for children living in single-parent homes, the odds of living in poverty are great. The policy implications of the increase in out-of-wedlock births are staggering.

The Brookings Institute is liberal, but even they acknowledge that the soaring illegitimacy rate could be reversed by eliminating contraception and abortion, though that idea is quickly rejected. Yet here a liberal think tank is agreeing with so called right wing ideologue. Rick Santorum Interesting.
But as my daughter and I have found, woe to the teacher, student or politician who sees the solution to poverty in anything other than another government entitlement program, he or she can expect to be destroyed by both sides of the press. Only those who have the courage to view the facts of the destruction of society as a result of contraception and abortion encouraging reckless sexual promiscuity.

Read the entire article in Life Site News.

Obama has Money for Chinese abortions nothing for abstinence

from Citizen Link. . .
Abstinence Education Funding Cut; Population Fund Gets $50M

The U.S. Senate Budget Committee has defeated an amendment that would have saved a place in the 2010 budget for Title V abstinence-education grants.
The monstrous stimulus bill recently passed by Congress curiously left out funding for Title V, which is set to expire June 30.
However, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) will be well-funded in the months to come.
The funding was cut under President George W. Bush because of the group's participation in forced abortion and sterilization policies. The Department of State has announced $50 million will go to UNFPA in 2009.
"Americans don't want their money going to an organization which works hand-in-glove with … population control police as they drag women off for forced abortions and forced sterilizations," Steven Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute, said in a statement.
What a sense of priorities. My friends who do abstinence education on Long Island, mostly in poor minority-dominated neighborhoods where they are warmly received, are heartbroken. So many lives were turned around, so much hope given to young people caught in the sexualized culture wars. Now we will be paying to kill Chinese babies born and unborn, via the UN Population Fund.

Pregnancy Pact in a state which refuses abstinence edcuation

from the Family Research Council

Despite the angst over fuel prices and the presidential race, rumors of a high school pregnancy pact are stealing headlines in America's largest newspapers and prompting more parents to question what public education is teaching their children about sex. During the 2007-08 school year, Joseph Sullivan, the principal of Massachusetts' Gloucester High School (GHS), noticed a serious spike in the number of girls who became pregnant during the school year. In an interview with Time, he admitted that the teen pregnancy rate had quadrupled at GHS, and he suspected that a group of sophomore girls agreed to "get pregnant and raise their babies together.

"While the media is consumed with whether or not such a pact exists, the story raises far more troubling issues about the school's message on sexuality. If these students never struck an agreement, as Gloucester's Mayor Carolyn Kirk insists, we can presume at the very least that these 16-year-old girls thought it was acceptable to be sexually active and become pregnant. And why wouldn't they? GHS's own policy encourages it. The school offers free on-site daycare for teen moms so that students can bring their babies to school. It also teaches "comprehensive" sex education to students in the ninth grade, just in time for high school. If the school is bending over backward to accommodate teen mothers and encouraging the promiscuity that leads to it, these girls would have no choice but to assume that premarital sex and motherhood are acceptable social norms.

Sarah Brown of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy said, "This is not a story about sex education." Of course it is! It just happens to be a story that liberals are trying to hide, as it confirms--once again--the failure of comprehensive sex education. Planned Parenthood celebrated when Gov. Deval Patrick (D) refused the federal funds for abstinence programs in Massachusetts schools. Had he accepted the grant and encouraged schools like GHS to use it to teach sexual restraint, the storyline in this storied fishing village might have been different. Instead schools like Gloucester insist on promoting promiscuity over abstinence in direct contradiction of the wishes of 78 percent of parents (as expressed in a 2007 Zogby poll)

Like us, these parents don't understand what's wrong with telling kids to simply say "no." Isn't that the message we give them on other dangerous activities like drug and alcohol use? We tell them not to smoke. And unlike sex education, we don't hand them filters and say "If you're going to light up, smoke safely." Now that public schools are starting to reap what they've sown with the "just do it" mentality, states are scrambling to accommodate kids and their poor decision-making. On teen sex, it's time to stop treating the problem and start preventing it with the only birth control that is 100% effective--abstinence.

Update: read JillStanek's take on the media's spin on this issue at World Net Daily.

President Bush to add $28 million to budget for abstinence education

President Bush’s budget proposal for 2009 includes $204 million to support Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) — a $28 million increase over last year’s budget for the program.
U.S. Reps. Lee Terry, R-Neb., and Mike McIntyre, D-N.C., have co-signed a letter to the chairman and the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, urging support for CBAE funding and current guidelines.
The president’s proposal coincides with a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing that one in four teen girls in the U.S. has a sexually transmitted infection (STI).
“With 3 million teen girls infected with STIs, safer sex in adolescents does not exist,” said Linda Klepacki, sexual health analyst for Focus on the Family Action. “For the current and future health of teens, we must teach them how to have strong relationships not based on sex.”
HT Citizen Link

President Bush approval rating 80% in Africa

PEPFAR: If It Ain't Broke...
Praise may be hard to come by at home, but President Bush is certainly enjoying a hero's welcome during his tour through Africa. With approval ratings well into the 80th percentile in nations like Kenya and Ghana, the President's popularity is a true testament to the contribution that America's generosity has made to the health and safety of the African people. Through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the U.S. has given life-saving antiretroviral treatment to almost a million and a half men, women, and children in 15 countries. With messages of abstinence and fidelity at the fore, America has supported community outreach to 61.5 million people. With an unprecedented $15 billion in relief, the U.S. has spent more than any other country to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa--with much to show for it. Unfortunately, the very values that have made the program effective are under attack from leaders at home. When the PEPFAR comes up for reauthorization on February 28, Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.)--Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee--will make every effort to strip the ABc model from the bill in favor of money for abortion providers and promoters. As the President is busy surveying the success that his approach has had in preserving future generations, Berman and the Democratic leadership are plotting to turn the program into something that would help eliminate Africa's next generation. Under Berman's proposal, PEPFAR could permit abortion services at taxpayer expense, as well as the removal of the Prostitution Pledge, which would give a U.S. stamp of approval on global sex trafficking and prostitution! At a time when President Bush is enjoying almost unanimous praise from African leaders for PEPFAR, he reminded Congress to "listen to the leaders on the continent of Africa, analyze what works, stop the squabbling, and get the program reauthorized." If our tax dollars are going to go overseas they should go to program like the current PEPFAR that promote pro-family policies. Do your part to keep it that way; ask your member of Congress to resist the urge to turn PEPFAR into another international family planning program.
HT Family Research Council

NYS Health Commissioner Richard Daines Refuses to Accept Abstinence Funding from Feds

Have you ever heard of a public official refusing money? Just how much of an ideaologue does one have to be to refuse money for a program with a proven track record of saving lives, both physically and spiritually?
Health Department spokeswoman Claudia Hutton says the state has received about $3.7 million in abstinence funding since 1998 and the state has allocated $2.6 million annual to go along with the federal dollars.
But Health Department Commissioner Richard Daines says that will no longer be the case starting on October 1. In a statement he posted on the agency's web site on Thursday, he said, "The Bush administration's Abstinence-Only program is an example of a failed national health care policy directive."
He claims it is "based on ideology rather than on sound scientific-based evidence that must be the cornerstone of good public health care policy."
HT Life News
In keeping with the Governor Spitzer's progressive health-care agenda for New York, (advance the cause of abortions for everyone)on July 2nd the department cancelled all existing abstinence only contracts under the federal Title V program that began under the previous administration. Earlier this year, the department made a conscious decision not to reapply for funds under this program due to the increasingly rigid federal standards imposed on New York and other states that were contrary to our commitment to fully educate adolescents about the risks associated with sexual behavior. NYS Dept Health Website
What were the people of New York thinking when they elected the pro-abortion Spitzer who went after the good people running Crisis Pregnancy Centers as Attorney General, accusing them of deceiving women? Where is our Catholic leadership in this crisis?
Take action and email Governor Spitzer about this mistake made by Health Commissioner Dr. Richard Daines here, telling him to restore Federal funds for abstinence programs. We can and must demand better behavior from the children of New York State, and from our elected officials. Learn the truth about the effectiveness of abstinence education.

Funding for Abstinence Education is up for a vote

Report Shows Lower Teen-Sex and Pregnancy Rates
by Wendy Cloyd, assistant editor
Decline began with the introduction of abstinence education.
Teen-sex and pregnancy rates are down, according to a National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) report released today. Experts say parents should take a closer look at the data to determine what the statistics show and how to keep kids healthy.
The NCHS study tracked trends among high school students from 1991 to 2005. In 1991, 54 percent of teens reported having had sexual intercourse. In 2005, that number dropped to 47 percent. The rate of teen pregnancy also showed a dramatic decline.
Dr. Joyce Abma, social scientist for NCHS, which is a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the data come from "pencil and paper questionnaires" called the Youth Risk Behavior Survey given to students at public and private schools.
"It's a cross-section of the high school student population in the United States in each of those years," Abma said. "The report contains data from each of the biennial surveys between those two time points, but those time points are interesting because the decline is significant between them."
Linda Klepacki, analyst for sexual health at Focus on the Family Action, said 1991 is a significant marker for a reason.
"That's when we separated out abstinence education from contraceptive-based education," she said. "We have seen a continual decline since 1991, so we can infer that we've had an effect with abstinence education in our public schools."
Abma said Klepacki is on to something. While the study did not attempt to investigate cause, she said, efforts to educate teens about the risks associated with sexual intercourse have "increased and intensified" over the last decade.
"Given how many of those efforts are going on," Abma said, "it is probably making an impact on both abstinence and responsible sexual behavior."
Harry Wilson, associate commissioner at the Family and Youth Services Bureau for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the study reflects that kids are making better decisions than they were 10 years ago.
"They’re making those good decisions, and, hopefully, it’s because the programs are working," he said. "The messages that they get are that it’s better to wait."
Klepacki said the trend is significant, but cautioned against being overly optimistic.
"Even though sexual-intercourse rates have been declining, that does not mean that other sexual-activity rates are also declining," she said. "We have seen a move to other sexual activities to protect their 'technical virginity.' " That's why it is important for kids to learn that the best way to stay healthy both physically and emotionally is abstinence until marriage.
"Parents need to continue to teach their children God's interpretation of sexual activity," Klepacki said, "and that's sexual purity in their heart, mind and body."
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Catholic Family Vignettes gives us another reason to homeschool

Manchester New Hampshire students went on a field trip; to Planned Parenthood. So, what's the problem? "Schools Superintendent Michael Ludwell said he would need to see a formal, written request from New Hampshire Right to Life before deciding whether a representative would meet with the students.
Ludwell said he hoped to finish an internal investigation by the end of the week and meet with the YMCA president to draw up new program guidelines, but overall he defended the STAY program.
"We have had a very long and, prior to this incident, a very positive relationship," he said. I bet you do. You provide fresh teens to the contraception business, they get pregnant when they fail, and, thanks to their wonderful public school education, they know where to go to get abortions when their adult boyfriends want to get off the hook in perfect secrecy.
Your tax dollars at work, folks. Thank God for homeschooling!
HT Catholic Family Vignettes

Jordin Sparks, the new American Idol, wears a purity ring!

I haven't been watching American Idol this year, but it's been on in the next room so I could monitor my girls who were glued to the TV.
I was touched, however, when I heard that she was asked by the hosts of Fox and Friends this morning what kind of ring was on her left finger, and she answered it's her pledge that True Love Waits, or that she will remain pure for her husband on their wedding night. That is AWESOME!

NOW I'm into American Idol! Good for you, Jordin, please don't let success change your innocence. You are a role model for millions of young people around the world.
You are also a good example for the Democrats in Congress who are de-funding abstinence programs.

They think what you are doing is impossible.
Jordin, you go girl!
UPDATE:
Michelle just informed us that not only is she pro-life, but she was HOMESCHOOLED too! So I did some digging on her past involvements, and look what I've found.
Here's a photo of Jordin, who has long been active in pro-life movement, she recently sang at the Arizona Right to Life Conference. Naturally this has become a controversy, but I say, you can't argue with a talent like hers, especially when she gives glory to God with it.
Lifenews says,
"the Internet has been full of talk in recent days about a photo that appeared on Sparks' personal Myspace page with her holding a sign from National Right to Life saying Stop Abortion Now.
In fact, those gigs at pro-life rallies are credited with getting a buzz about her and catching the eye of well-known Christian singer Michael W. Smith, with whom she performed.
Her singing in contemporary Christian circles won her enough praise that she won the Gospel Music Association Spotlight Award in 2004."