Prometheus 6

That includes abstinence-only pseudo sex education .

After making noise about finally ending “abstinence-only” funding just weeks ago, after recently voting to continue funding “abstinence-only” the Democrats have proved they’re all bark and no bite.

While yesterday the House Foreign Operations subcommittee approved legislation that enables global HIV prevention programs to determine at the country level the most effective and relevant mix of services needed by individuals there, the word is that the House Labor-Health and Human Services subcommittee is planning on spending $27 million more than last year (a total of $150 million) on abstinence-only programs (specifically for CBAE–Community Based Abstinence Education program–as early as tomorrow). Yes, the same programs that time and again have been proven to have NO impact on changing the sexual behaviors of young people–but can create increased risk because they are refused a breadth of knowledge on the subject.

It is unconscionable for the Democratic leadership to play into the politics of abstinence only programming, rather than paying attention to the public health evidence. Even more disturbing–in a time of limited resources for public health programs–that the United States think about throwing good money after bad by adding funding to these programs. Just take a look at the states–coast to coast and parts in between–that are rejecting this kind of programming. So why spend more money?

Where to begin? The only thing more nauseating than the Democrats decision to continue funding an ineffective and actually harmful strategy is why they did it according to Congressional Quarterly.

Lawmakers say the olive branch extended to Republicans increases the likelihood that the bill will pass the House with a veto-proof majority. It also sends a strong signal that Appropriations Chairman David R. Obey, D-Wis., will avoid controversial social policy changes this year in the interest of moving bills.

Ralph Regula, R-Ohio, a former chairman of the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee, said Obey “balanced that [funding] out with an equal amount to Planned Parenthood.”

The administration has said the president will veto spending bills that exceed his request, but Bush may not have the votes in Congress to back up his threat. “When it leaves the House, it may leave with insufficient ‘no’ votes to sustain a veto,” said subcommittee member Dave Weldon, R-Fla., who supports abstinence-only education.

The abstinence program money could also provide political cover to centrist Democrats made vulnerable to conservatives’ attacks by their leadership’s decision to let the mandatory pool dry up. Liberal Democrats said they could live with compromising on abstinence-only education, which they generally oppose, if it means paving the way for more spending on domestic programs they favor.

“That’s a reasonable concession in light of the more than $10 billion” the bill contains in excess of Bush’s budget request, said Jesse L. Jackson Jr., D-Ill.

I’m almost to tired to even try to take on that bit of political rationalizing. I’ve written over and over again about the failure of “abstinence-only education,” the devastating effect it’s had and continues to have in Africa, and the hypocrisy of those who promote it and who apparently don’t care about the harm it causes. These are the people the Dems want to cut deals with, even knowing that the stuff their supporting not only doesn’t work but may actually do harm.