Under the Bush Administration, federal support for “abstinence-only” education programs has expanded rapidly. The federal government will spend approximately $170 million on abstinence-only education programs in fiscal year 2005, more than twice the amount spent in fiscal year 2001. As a result, abstinence-only education, which promotes abstinence from sexual activity without teaching basic facts about contraception, now reaches millions of children and adolescents each year. In addition, the Administration has pushed to promote abstinence-only education programs in global HIV/AIDS prevention efforts. (Last Updated Feb. 9, 2005)
The Committee held a hearing titled, “Domestic Abstinence-Only Programs: Assessing the Evidence” on Wednesday, April 23, 2008, in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.
Today Chairman Waxman, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Lantos, and Congresswoman Barbara Lee reiterated their concern about the implementation of youth abstinence programs in the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). They requested detailed information about how the Administration intends to monitor the implementation of its policies and a description of all planned evaluations of the effectiveness of abstinence programs.
In a letter to HHS Secretary Leavitt, Rep. Waxman asks why HHS and CDC censored a conference session critical of abstinence-only education in response to political pressure.
In a letter, Rep. Waxman calls on HHS Secretary Leavitt to retract new Community-Based Abstinence Education funding guidelines that are based on ideology, not public health.
Rep. Waxman writes to Presidential Advisor Claude Allen regarding comments he made that incorrectly assert that inaccuracies on the 4parents.gov website have been fixed.
In a letter to GAO, Rep. Waxman raises concerns about possible ideological bias and financial conflicts of interest in a HHS funded review of abstinence-only curricula.
Update: In response to the expert reviews commissioned by Rep. Waxman, the Senate Appropriations Committee directed HHS to review the website, correct erroneous content, and to include more information about risks associated with alcohol and tobacco use.
A politically well connected organization that promotes abstinence education has received a major federal grant under the President’s AIDS program despite its proposal having been rated “not suitable for funding” by an independent review panel.
Rep. Waxman, joined by 19 other members of Congress, requests that GAO review HHS's processes for determining the accuracy and evaluating the effectiveness of "abstinence-only" education programs.
A report released by Rep. Waxman shows that many federally funded abstinence-only education programs use curricula that distort information about the effectiveness of contraceptives, misrepresent the risks of abortion, blur religion and science, treat stereotypes about girls and boys as scientific fact, and contain basic scientific errors.
Rep. Waxman expresses continuing concern that HHS may be using audits to penalize groups who do not adhere to the Administration's abstinence-only approach to sex education.
Rep. Waxman and 33 other members write HHS Secretary Thompson to protest a string of actions by the Administration to promote its unproven ‘abstinence-only’ policies on international HIV/AIDS prevention efforts.
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