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The Department of Health and Human
Services has added an abstinence-only sex education curriculum to the range of
evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs funded by the Obama
administration. The Office of Adolescent Health in April added the Heritage
Keepers Abstinence Education (HKAE) program to the list, making it eligible for
support under the $75 million Teen Pregnancy Prevention Fund.
“What we’re hoping is that getting
one program on the list shows they’re willing to look at the issue of teens and
sexual risk avoidance,” said Valerie Huber, president of the National
Abstinence Education Association. “I certainly do hope this could be the
beginning of a new trend.”
The 2012 federal budget retained $55
million for abstinence-only programs, just a third of the $176 million
available the last year President George W. Bush was in office. Several liberal
groups signed an April 30 letter asking HHS to explain including HKAE among
evidence-based programs.
HKAE met two benchmarks for approval
as being evidence-based, said Mark Weber, an HHS spokesperson. It had a robust
study design and a statistically significant effect on students’ behavior.
In support of HKAE, HHS cited a 2011
comparative study involving 2,215 middle-school students. Sexual activity among
students who did not participate in HKAE rose from 29.2 percent at baseline to
43.2 percent one year after HKAE concluded. It increased less among HKAE
participants, from 29.1 percent reporting being sexually active at the
beginning to 33.7 percent one year after the program.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
