Crist to review abstinence-only funding

Family planning advocates are applauding Charlie Crist for saying at his town hall meeting in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday that he will review abstinence-only funding. The not-exactly-firm "I'm happy to look at it" Crist comment came in response to a question/speech about taxpayer money being wasted on abstinence-only programs.

Listen here

“The weight of the evidence cannot be ignored, and it is time to answer tough questions about why we continue to waste millions of dollars a year on a policy that has failed to keep teens healthy and safe,” said Adrienne Kimmell, Healthy Teens Campaign member and executive director of the Florida Association of Planned Parenthood Affiliates. “We encourage Gov. Crist to take the next step and join the 25 governors who no longer accept federal abstinence-only funding.”

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Comments

It's about time. These programs just do not work!

Abstinence worked quite well for Bristol Palin, didn't it?
It's interesting to note that the vast majority of teen preganancies involve girls from religious households, where sex is simply not discussed. Abstinence rings and pledges take the place of good common-sense information.

Here is a delicious story on Allen Sanford, the Bush buddy billionaire who pulled his own Madoff-scheme in Texas until he was caught, and has since fled the nation. Allen, being a "good" evangelical, decided that sexual "immorality" is a far more important issue than a wee bit of fraud and theft.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-02-19/god-and-ponzi/

Voluntarily give up federal funds? Interesting.

Abstinence funding gets the repiggies sexually excited.

Ignorance Only is NOT sex ed. It results in deadly decisions for teens.

Charlie has no children. Perhaps he should ask himself if he wants to be part of recklessly endangering young lives by preventing our schools from actually teaching the physical, legal, moral and emotional results of unprotected sex.

No one should want tax bucks to spread stupid among our young folks. It never made sense.

[Michael Emanuel Rajner]

Thank you for your blog on Governor Crist’s commitment to review Title V funding.

Given the research indicating our youth are sexually active and not abstaining until marriage, we need to educate and prepare our youth for the harsh realities of today’s world. Teen pregnancy, STD and HIV-infection are all preventable. Our public systems need to get real and teach our children the lessons they are not being taught at home.

Governor Crist is to be commended for his public commitment to review this funding and encouraged to act with great courage and to be sensible and reject Title V funding.

The holy rollers scream and yell any time that birth control is funded. The "stupid" reigns supreme in holy rollerland.
Notice that so many of their teenaged girls wind up pregnant and under-educated.

[Holy Roller.]

Let's see if Charlie remembers who put him in office.

[P.C.]

THAT'S EASY FOR CHARLIE TO SAY.

HAS ANYONE HEARD FROM THE FIRST LADY SINCE THE WEDDING?

I WONDER HOW THE NEW YORK SOCIAL SCEEN IS GOING?

[Gator(R)]

11:18

It would be more interesting to note if there were any facts to back up your statement.

I would agree however that attempting to teach abstinence in today's environment is probably a lost cause.

[Andrew Allan]

2:58 -
Not too hard to imagine 11:18 is at least halfway correct. I would have to agree that most teen pregnancies carried to term are probably from religious households. And that is to their credit.

I'd also guess those little religious gals "get in trouble" less than those from non-religious households. But non-religious households are not as averse to a quick and easy "fix," hence the misleading numbers that abstinence "doesn't work".

Andrew, you totally miss the point. Non-religious households are much better about sex education in their own homes and in their schools.

My Jewish doctor and his wife have two daughters, one in graduate school and one who just started college in September.
My evangelical plumber, on his third marriage, has three sons and two daughters from his three marriages. Both of his daughters are teen mothers and have dropped out of high school. One of his sons is in prison; one is in the military, and the third is about to become a father for the second time
at the age of 18.
The doctor never speaks of religion. The plumber can't shut up about it, with his truck adorned with fish magnets
and bumper stickers.

[Andrew Allan]

It would also be interesting to see how many of those “quick fixers” end up on psychiatrist couches or in the morgue from suicide compared to young mothers who carried their babies to term and then gave them up. Is that a subject Planned Parenthood's proposed sex ed would also cover?

Andrew, some of these selfless young mothers wouldn't have become mothers if people like you would stop blocking access to information on sexual matters. Your "nobility" is true arrogance.

It seems that every two weeks we read of another young father who either kills his infant or maims his infant permanently. Usually, these young parents who try to play family are far too immature and unstable to raise a child,
a child conceived because of the bizarre "religious" idea which suggests the sinfulness of birth control.

[Gator(R)]

4:14 One anectdotal example doth not a case make.

Actually, abstinence worked very effectively for me prior to marriage. Unfortunately, it wasn't by choice (at least by MY choice).

Abstinence also worked after marriage, it was those times between abstinences that resulted in several kids.

So a couple of teenagers, in the eyes of religion, commit a greater sin by using birth control than they do by having non-marital sex. This is utter insanity.

The Times has just posted a story on fundamentalists vandalizing a sex-shop business. It's so much easier to prove your love of God by harassing a sex shop than it is to go out and feed the poor and house the homeless.
Just what is being taught at Baptist churches these days?

http://blogs.tampabay.com/breakingnews/2009/02/one-nation-unde.html

Gov. Crist guarantees himself a primary challenge should he change anything about this program.

i wonder if CC's logic applies to the drug war? WAY more money is spent incarcerating "criminals" then is spent in on abstinence training and go to your local high school and see how effective that is

[Gator(R)]

5:47 They do that on breaks from feeding the poor and housing the homeless.

I found I'd rather read and post blogs than feed the poor as well. I can't cast stones. But I did give some guy at Popeye's Chicken $5 to eat, is that enough to warrant harassing a porn shop for a couple minutes?

Gator, 5 dollars at Popeye's? You certainly are fulfilling your Christian duty.

Big surprise. For planned parenthood the only "good" plan is the slaughter of babies. The only "good" baby to them is one found aborted in a trash can. These people are just plain evil!

And just how many babies and children have you adopted or fostered? Zero...Don't morons like you realize that if birth control is available along with the pertinent information, that the number of abortions will be lessened. Or would you simply prefer to keep your high moral dudgeon? It's easy to run your mouth, but it's tough to actually do something good.

Let's abstain from spending this money.

Leave well enough alone. Teach your kids what you want, but leave mine alone. Trust me, you don't want to go here.

[angry republican]

More nanny state items on the list.These are things much better done at home,if you are uncomfortable with that or maybe a single parent or something like that,sign your child up.Its all elective,you don't want them or do want them to the school will help.
Another pet peeve of mine is the prayer and pledge of allegiance that many think should be done at school,why? I don't understand this,teach your child these most important things right in your home. Some of these parents just expect teachers to teach little johnny absolutely everything,,,and don't get me wrong,most of our teachers are absolutely superb but with fewer and fewer dollars it times for many of US to have our children do some of these things at home.