Jump in States Refusing Abstinence Only Funding

This
year has seen a jump in the number of states refusing federal funds for
abstinence only education programs. Before this year, only four states
had turned down such funding, according to the Washington Post. In November, Virginia became the 14th state to do so.

The sharp increase in states refusing federal abstinence only funding follows a series of reports that highlighted the ineffectiveness of such programs. In 2005-2006, the teen birth rate rose for the first time since 1991, according to a report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

"This abstinence-only program is just not getting the job done," said
Cecile Richards of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in the Washington Post. "This is an ideologically based program that doesn’t have any support in science."

Media Resources: Washington Post 12/16/07; Feminist Daily Newswire 11/9/07, 11/13/07, 12/6/07 http://www.msmagazine.com/news/uswirestory.asp?ID=10713