Obama Budget Abstains from Abstinence-Ony Sex Ed

In his proposed budget for fiscal year 2010, President Obama has eliminated funding for abstinence-only sex education programs in schools. Instead, Obama wants to allocate $25 million for a new teen pregnancy prevention initiative, which will develop and test new approaches to preventing teen pregnancy. In the proposed new budget, $50 million would be available to the states for teen pregnancy prevention programs. In place of the Bush administrations out-of-date and ineffective Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) programs, Obama proposes $110 million in competitive grants to "fund teen pregnancy prevention programs," with at least $75 million reserved for "programs that replicate the elements of one or more teenage pregnancy prevention programs that have been proven through rigorous evaluation to delay sexual activity, increase contraceptive use (without increasing sexual activity), or reduce teenage pregnancy." After a 15-year drop, teen pregnancy rates have begun rising again. Furthermore, in a 2004 Kaiser Foundation poll, 95% of surveyed parents of middle-schoolers believe that contraception is appropriate subject to be taught in schools. Well, it's about time!