Will you support funding for abstinence-until-marriage education instead of for explicit sex-education programs, school-based clinics, and the distribution of contraceptives in schools?
Palin: Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support.
*** UPDATE *** NBC’s Abby Livingston adds that a McCain spokesperson in May 2007 said the Arizona Republican supported abstinence-only education, too. “Sen. McCain believes the correct policy for educating young children on this subject is to promote abstinence as the only safe and responsible alternative. To do otherwise is to send a mixed signal to children that, on the one hand they should not be sexually active, but on the other here is the way to go about it. As any parent knows, ambiguity and equivocation leads to problems when it comes to teaching children right from wrong. Sen. McCain believes that there are many negative forces in today’s society that promote irresponsible and dangerous behavior to our children. The public education system should not join this chorus of moral equivocation and ambiguity.”1
Abstinence can mean different things to adolescents than to adults. That’s one reason why abstinence-only programs do not have strong effects in preventing teenage sexual activity, according to new University of Washington research.2
- Palin backed abstinence-only education. MSNBC.com. http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/01/1320417.aspx [<]
- When it comes to abstinence teens, adults aren’t speaking the same language. UWNews.org. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleID=43133 [<]
