LANSDOWNE, Va., May 13 /
Christian Newswire/ -- On behalf of a network of more than 1,160 pregnancy centers,
Care Net President Melinda Delahoyde says President Obama's budget proposal undermines effective ways to promote healthy sexuality among teens and to reduce abortion.
"Today, Care Net calls on President Obama to put actions to his words about emphasizing 'the sacredness of sexual behavior' and reducing abortion," said Delahoyde. "It's helpful for the President to use the bully pulpit to promote health and wholeness among our nation's young people; however, his budget proposal indicates there is a terrible disconnect between his words and his policies."
In the President's budget proposal for Oct 2009 through Sept 2010, all funding for effective abstinence education has been eliminated, bringing critical programs across the nation to a halt. In its place is more than $164 million dollars of federal funding for contraceptive-only programs.
According to the National Abstinence Education Association and Dr. Stan Weed, expert on sex education and president of The Institute for Research and Evaluation, more than 40 studies on abstinence education programs have indicated "significant success in predicting and/or showing positive behavioral change," however no contraceptive-only program has "demonstrated compelling evidence of decreasing STDs or teen pregnancy, nor of increasing consistent condom usage among students for a meaningful time period."
In addition to eliminating abstinence funding, the President's proposal urges Congress to lift the ban on direct taxpayer funding of abortion in the District of Columbia, home of the nation's highest abortion rate.
"If the President's ultimate goal is to reduce abortion, it goes against reason to promote free abortions at the taxpayers' expense instead of promoting alternatives to abortion and pregnancy support," said Delahoyde. "The main reason why there is such a high demand for abortion in urban areas is the lack of support provided for alternatives. That's why pregnancy centers are seeking to ensure that women in urban areas have access to support services, not just abortion. The President's proposal makes our work that much harder to achieve."
To read more about Care Net's proposal for abortion reduction, read Delahoyde's op-ed, "
Pregnancy Centers Reduce Abortion."
