President's 2010 Budget Eliminates Funding of Abstinence Education

On the way to work this morning I saw a billboard offering a cure for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The picture showed a Margarita glass with a hand covering the top of the glass. Above the hand was the word "Cure." The idea is that the most effective way to end FAS is abstinence, don't drink during pregnancy. It seems pretty obvious. Drinking during pregnancy can result in FAS or a host of other birth defects so if you simply don't drink you won't have these problems. It's 100% effective.

But when it comes to an issue like a teen or other "unwanted" pregnancy, I wonder how many of those same people advocating "don't drink" would see the wisdom in "abstinence programs" to prevent pregnancy. The concept is the same. If you don't have sex, you won't get pregnant. 100% effective, seems simple enough right? But not to our enlightened president and other politicians. The President's 2010 budget calls for the elimination of "abstinence education programs" and replaces this with distribution of condoms which are proven not to be 100% effective.

Here is some background on the story and you can read the rest here.

Before he took over the White House, President Barack Obama made it clear he would cut abstinence funding. He has followed through as his new budget eliminates all federal funding for abstinence-only education and replaces it with sexual education.

The budget eliminates funding for CBAE (Community Based Abstinence Education) and Title V Abstinence Education Program.

In Obama's FY 2010 Proposed Budget, the president calls for at least $164 million in funding for contraceptive-only education. The money includes competitive grants, research, evaluation and authorization for $50 million in new mandatory condom grants to states, tribes and territories.