ACTION ALERT: The Return of Abstinence-Only Education!

October 2009 I am outraged and dismayed to tell you this... But part of the funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs is back. On September 29, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) pushed through an amendment in the Senate Finance Committee authorizing $50 million in funding for abstinence-only programs as part of Health Care Reform- despite over 10 years of evidence that these programs do not work. By a razor-thin vote of 12-11, the Senators on the Finance Committee gave conservative ideology a victory over science and common sense. We are too close to finally ending federal funding for failed abstinence-only programs. Tell your Senators it's time to stop these programs once and for all! In fact, we have been working with coalition partners around the country to launch a National Sex Ed Month of Action beginning tomorrow, October 1. Our hope was - and is - to build support in Congress for the REAL Act and comprehensive sex education. It's been a 10-year fight to end funding for these harmful and ineffective programs. President Obama has called for their elimination. Democrats in the House and Senate have held firm through budget negotiations. This fight has been long, but - with the end in sight - it is more important than ever that we all make our voices heard. Ask your Senators to strip the Hatch Amendment from Health Care Reform. Don't let 12 Senators undermine sex education in the United States! With the passage of the Hatch Amendment, it is more important than ever that we send a clear message to the United States Senate: Abstinence-only-until-marriage programs were a dangerous experiment, teaching ignorance instead of education. Their time is finally past - and together, we will end these harmful programs. Sincerely, James Wagoner President Advocates for Youth