WASHINGTON – Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Sunday that the government should review federally funded sexual abstinence programs, under fire from Democrats who say they contain false and misleading medical information.
The “abstinence-only” programs, which get $170 million from Congress this year, teach children and teens the benefits of abstaining from sex until marriage. By law, they are not allowed to discuss any benefits of birth control or condoms in preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
A report last week by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., found 11 of the 13 most widely used programs contain misinformation. He said they underestimate the effectiveness of condoms in preventing pregnancy and the spread of disease, exaggerate the prevalence of emotional and physical distress following abortion, blur science and religion or get fundamental scientific facts wrong.
Frist, a doctor, touted the benefits of a more comprehensive approach backed by President Bush in the global fight against AIDS called “ABC” for abstinence, being faithful and use of condoms.
“Whether it’s abstinence or whether it’s a condom or whether it is … washing hands in terms of the flu, all of these are public health challenges,” Frist said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” program.
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