January 24, 2008

Arizona Governor Rejects Abstinence-Only Funding

Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano said the state will reject federal funding for abstinence-only programs and will only accept money that can be used to provide sex education, contraceptives and sexually transmitted disease screenings for community college students, reports the Arizona Daily Star (azstarnet.com, 1/24).

“While we all support 'abstinence only' and don't believe, in particular, teenagers ought to be engaging in sexual relations of that sort, the fact of the matter is, some do,” said Napolitano. “They need to have complete information for their own health, for their own bodies.”

The governor said she has accepted federal funds to support abstinence-only education in the past “to see whether it worked”; however, she cited recent studies revealing abstinence-only programs did not stop youth from having sex.

The Daily Star reports Napolitano wrote a letter to federal health officials rejecting future funds, saying she would only accept money that “strongly promotes abstinence” if it can also be used for “a curriculum that provides comprehensive and medically accurate sexuality education.”

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Previous Comments:

Doug, Lomg Beach, 2008-01-30 12:48:28
Good for Govenor Napolitano! It's about time someone told the IDIOTS in Washington that telling kids/young adults w/raging hormones to keep it in their pants is a freaking joke!!! Give em some info that they can use to make a better decision, not some wornout message from a "blue haired" administration!

Mark, Aztec, New Mexico, 2008-01-29 23:24:22
Governor Napolitano's stance is both logical and laudible. New Mexico's Gov. Bill Richardson did this more than a month ago, as have a number of other states. The bottom line is abstinence only doesn't work, never did and it is costing lives.

Jason 1948, Snowflake, AZ, 2008-01-29 20:46:49
2000+ years of preaching abstinence only should make it plain to government dunderheads that this approach doesn't work. Napolitano has shown clear thinking in rejecting these funds along with their twisted caveats.

Judith Backof, Fort Pierce Florida, 2008-01-29 17:11:20
Thank you for your integrity and for caring about the health and safety of your citizens.

Jonathan, , 2008-01-29 13:41:12
Amen! Now if we can get the other 49 states on board..change will be at hand!

Sharon, Winter Park, 2008-01-29 09:48:11
Kudos, to the governor. It's about time someone stood up to the Feds on this issue. As someone who teaches a course on HIV Disease at the university level, I see firsthand how abstinence education does not work. We will never stop HIV if we continue to put our collective heads in the sand and deny that sex takes place even at the elementary school level. I agree that we need to give students reality-based education so they have the tools to help them decide what to do with their bodies.