Federal Abstinence Education Funding Extended

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Federal Abstinence Education Funding Extended

Special Report - July 17, 2008
In a victory for pro-family advocates, federal funding of Title V abstinence education programs has been extended for another year through June 2009. The U.S. House and Senate voted on July 15 to override the president’s veto of H.R. 6331-Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008, a large health care bill that includes a provision reauthorizing Title V programs for the next 12 months. After H.R. 6331 passed overwhelmingly in the House and Senate earlier this month, President Bush vetoed the measure because of Medicare-related concerns. In response, the House voted 383 to 41, and the Senate voted 70 to 26 on July 15 to override the president’s veto, enacting H.R. 6331 into law. Title V provides $50 million a year in block grants to states exclusively for the teaching of abstinence education, and North Carolina typically receives about $1.2 million of these funds.

“The reauthorization of Title V abstinence education programs for another year is great news for health educators, parents and teenagers in North Carolina and nationwide,” said Matt Lytle, director of research for the North Carolina Family Policy Council. “The only sure way to avoid all the consequences of early sexual activity—including unplanned pregnancy, sexually transmitted disease, and mental and emotional harm—is abstinence from sexual activity until marriage. That’s the message teens need to hear, and this message deserves government support at the federal, state and local levels.”