The truth is there is no confusion among young people when you say to them, as we all do, that “ … genital sexual contact early in your teen years is not appropriate and not called for, but there are other ways to express your sexuality that are very satisfying; let’s talk about those. And if you do make the personal choice that you are going to behave in some way other than what we are talking about, here’s the way you can make sure you are not going to get hurt or hurt someone else.” It’s the grownups who are confused, not the young people. They are rarely confused by that.
Q: That’s alarming considering that our federal government only funds abstinence-only programs.
A: While that’s true, I think it’s important to note that our program has been privately funded for twenty years. We have learned that a good idea gets support, so even though the climate changes from administration to administration, we have been able to steadily attract support both locally and nationally. I think that is very important for groups such as Planned Parenthood, because it says there is support to mount and fund programs like this even though abstinence-only programs are taking up the government’s money.
It’s interesting that two years ago, we heard from the president that social programs that were science-based would be receiving government support. We at the CAS are still waiting for our support—we are one of the few programs that have fulfilled that requirement. Unfortunately, many groups are willing to take whatever position they need to take to get funding—unlike Planned Parenthood, which, like us, remains faithful to its no-compromise position on the provision of reproductive health services to young people.
By Nancy Hatch Woodward
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