Ideology, not science, has been driving America's response to the twin epidemics of teen pregnancy and STD/HIV infections.  Funding for abstinence-only censorship programs is dramatically increasing.  All told, abstinence-only programs have received over half a billion dollars in federal funds since 1997, and the Bush administration requested yet another sharp  increase to $204 million for fiscal year 2007.  By 2009, President Bush proposes that funding for abstinence-only programs reach $270 million.

This huge investment of taxpayer funds in abstinence-only programs conflicts with scientific and medical research:  abstinence-only programs are not proven effective and may in fact result in riskier behavior by teenagers.  Responsible sex education programs, on the other hand, have demonstrated positive results such as delayed initiation of sex, reduced frequency of sex, and increased contraceptive use.

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