By Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY
The federal government's "no sex without marriage" message isn't just for kids anymore.

Now the government is targeting unmarried adults up to age 29 as part of its abstinence-only programs, which include millions of dollars in federal money that will be available to the states under revised federal grant guidelines for 2007.

The government says the change is a clarification. But critics say it's a clear signal of a more directed policy targeting the sexual behavior of adults.

"They've stepped over the line of common sense," said James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit that supports sex education. "To be preaching abstinence when 90% of people are having sex is in essence to lose touch with reality. It's an ideological campaign. It has nothing to do with public health."

Abstinence education programs, which have focused on preteens and teens, teach that abstaining from sex is the only effective or acceptable method to prevent pregnancy or disease. They give no instruction on birth control or safe sex.

The National Center for Health Statistics says well over 90% of adults ages 20-29 have had sexual intercourse.

But Wade Horn, assistant secretary for children and families at the Department of Health and Human Services, said the revision is aimed at 19- to 29-year-olds because more unmarried women in that age group are having children.

Government data released last month show that 998,262 births in 2004 were to unmarried women 19-29, the ages with the most births to unmarried women.

"The message is 'It's better to wait until you're married to bear or father children,' " Horn said. "The only 100% effective way of getting there is abstinence."

The revised guidelines specify that states seeking grants are "to identify groups ... most likely to bear children out-of-wedlock, targeting adolescents and/or adults within the 12- through 29-year-old age range." Previous guidelines didn't mention targeting of an age group.

"We wanted to remind states they could use these funds not only to target adolescents," Horn said. "It's a reminder."

Last year, 46 states applied for the federal abstinence-education money, to fund programs in schools, neighborhood clubs and faith-based organizations.

Sarah Brown, director of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, says abstinence programs are among many messages that have helped reduce teen pregnancy rates. But "the notion that the federal government is supporting millions of dollars worth of messages to people who are grown adults about how to conduct their sex life is a very divisive policy," she says.

"We would oppose any program that stigmatizes unmarried people," adds Nicky Grist, executive director of the Alternatives to Marriage Project, a non-profit organization based in Brooklyn, N.Y., that advocates for the rights of unmarried people.

For last year's state grants, Congress appropriated $50 million. A similar amount is expected for 2007, but the money has not yet been allocated, according to the Administration for Children and Families.

"I think the program should talk about the problem with out-of- wedlock childbearing — not about your sex life," Brown says. "If you use contraception effectively and consistently, you will not be in the pool of out-of-wedlock births."

im sure if they had to put this in action they could just add shit to our food and water to alter our reproductive systems ...somehow

"Abstinence education programs, which have focused on preteens and teens, teach that abstaining from sex is the only effective or acceptable method to prevent pregnancy or disease. They give no instruction on birth control or safe sex."

This is so stupid. You can't tell them they are wrong because if you abstain from sex then you will avoid pregnancy and STDs. But Do they really think they are going to keep young adults from sex?
Morons.

Could someone clarify America's position with regards to aid money towards African sex-ed programs?

Not in this thread. That's been discussed in other threads several times.

I think if there was no war on ... you and I would get along pretty well.

of course. everyone knows teenagers never think about sex.

so they're endorsing kids having sex once they get married?

Not here. I can't get the morning after pill, and the birth control pill is stupidly expensive. They're worried about the "aging population" Fuckers!

Forget the fact that this federally sponsored adult abstinence program is ridiculous. What caught my eye is that there is a group called the Alternatives to Marriage Project. Here's their website: http://www.unmarried.org/.

I swear, there's an advocacy group for everybody nowadays.

I wonder what NAMBLA thinks about the Federal Gov't promoting abstinence among adults.

Well atleast gay couples in NJ and Mass can finally fuck. If you are a gay person in Iowa, under the idea of "no sex without marraige", well, zip it up, it may take a while.

Remember: Toilet Seats

wow...I can't even believe this...

I can't figure out how they plan to teach this to say a 25 year old man/woman with a career. Will it be through PSAs? At your local library? etc etc.
Another great way to spend my hard earned tax dollars. I'm glad that I get to work out in the cold the rest of the week so that some of my money can go to this bullshit.

http://www.zipperfish.com/videos/mini-f ... out-s-e-x/

I'd kind of like even Married people to slow down. What exactly is so great about having 5 children...

That or ban fucking strollers. People breed like it's going out of style and then between the shopping carts and the freaking strollers one can't walk anywhere anymore.

Girls here want the same too

HB, does Brazil have the "welfare queen" stereotype that Reagan's crew perpetuated here in the US?

No. Poor people get a small amount of money if the children go to school and such, but our gov just thinks about its own "welfare", growing for the sake of growing, hiring more state parasites and shit like that. Like France, but without good schools and good hospitals and everything that we see as "good welfare".