Obama's budget changes sex education funding from abstinence-only to comprehensive education

doi:10.1136/bmj.b2008

Published 20 May 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2008
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b2008

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Obama’s budget changes sex education funding from abstinence-only to comprehensive education

Janice Hopkins Tanne

¹ New York

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Barack Obama’s proposed budget will end most funding forabstinence-only sex education, which will reverse former presidentGeorge W Bush’s policy. Instead it increases funds forcomprehensive sex education.

The proposed budget was sent to Congress on 7 May. Both housesof Congress will consider the budget, pass legislation to appropriateand authorise funds, and reconcile differences between the Houseof Representatives and Senate versions of the legislation. The2010 budget year begins on 1 October 2009.

The White House’s budget summary says, "The Budget supportsState, community-based, and faith-based efforts to reduce teenpregnancy using evidence-based models. The program will fundmodels that stress the importance of abstinence while providingmedically-accurate and age-appropriate information to youthwho have already become sexually active."

Since 2001, under President Bush, the US federal governmentspent nearly $1.3bn (£860m; ${euro}$ 960m) on abstinence-only sexeducation. Several studies have shown that abstinence programmeshave little . . . [Full text of this article]