Group Criticizes House Committee Vote On Abstinence Education As Religiously Biased

A subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives last month approved a $32 million increase in funding for the Community Based Abstinence Education Program, despite a recent study indicating that the program is not successful in changing teen behavior. (In These Times.) Now apparently the full Appropriations Committee has approved the increase as well. This came as Congress last week sent to the President a 6-month extension of the program. The Secular Coalition for America today issued a press release criticizing the Appropriations Committee vote as "an unfortunate continuation of failed policies based on theology rather than fact". It said that the vote reflects "a clear religious bias" and that the programs have been "developed by individuals who put theology above education".