Planned Parenthood | Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota Action Fund

Planned Parenthood Urges Congress to Stop Funding Abstinence-Only Programs

St. Paul, MN — As the global community marks World AIDS Day on December 1, 2007, Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota (PPMNS) called on Congress to halt funding for harmful abstinence-only programs that deny teenagers lifesaving information about preventing infections like HIV/AIDS.
“World AIDS Day is a powerful reminder of the importance of prevention — and of the fact that young people in the U.S. are being denied the information they need to protect their health," said PPMNS President and CEO Sarah Stoesz.  "Congress has wasted more than a billion dollars on inaccurate and ineffective abstinence-only programs that do nothing to help young people make responsible decisions about preventing infections like HIV/AIDS," Stoesz said.

According to the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS, there are approximately 33.2 million people living with HIV worldwide.  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates there are more than one million people living with HIV in the United States. 

"Education and testing are essential parts of HIV prevention and every year Planned Parenthood does our part to help protect young people, but we can't do it alone," said Stoesz. “It's time for Congress to stop funding wasteful abstinence-only programs and start supporting education that helps young people make responsible decisions about their health,” Stoesz said.

While Congress continues to fund abstinence-only programs, Planned Parenthood has urged states to reject the federal funds.  As a result, governors across America, from Montana to Massachusetts, have rejected funding for abstinence-only programs, citing several reports that have found these programs to be ineffective at changing teens’ sexual behavior, including a federally funded April 2007 study by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.  Virginia recently became the 14th state to reject the funding.    


"We need to make sure young people in the U.S. and around the world have the tools they need to make responsible decisions," said Stoesz.  "As a parent, I want teenagers to learn about abstinence and contraception so they can make responsible, safe decisions about their health.  It's time for Congress to stop wasting money and start putting teens and parents first by funding comprehensive sex education programs that include medically accurate messages about prevention and abstinence," Stoesz said.