Regardless of what President Bush says, abstinence-only sex education has been widely discredited. Last April, a longitudinal study of 2,000 children commissioned by Congress found that preaching abstinence does not keep teenagers from having sex nor does it increase the likelihood that they will use contraception if they do. The results essentially gutted the fundamental premise behind the abstinence-only movement.

Here in Illinois, however, it seems Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the Department of Human Services (DHS) have ignored the overwhelming evidence to this effect. According to the Sexuality and Information Education Council’s (SIECUS) William Smith, the state accepted over $1.8 million in abstinence-until-marriage funds this past fiscal year through a federal funding stream known as Title V. And the money went to some undeserving causes.

One beneficiary was Scott Phelps, founder of the Wheeling-based Abstinence and Education Marriage Partnership. He’s also the co-author of three popular abstinence-only curricula, Game Plan, Aspire, and Navigator. Glenview’s Project Reality, an industry leader in abstinence-only publishing, netted $81,560 in funding and used the cash to distribute Game Plan in 15 states. What value can be gleaned from Phelps’ manifesto? Page 36 features this nugget: “Even more widespread than disease are the emotional scarring and deep wounds that come out of broken relationships. No matter how strong a condom is, it won’t protect you from a broken heart.” Smith writes that “by supplying funds for Project Reality, [DHS] Secretary [Carol] Adams is not only putting Illinois youth at risk, but financially backing one of the worst abstinence-only-until-marriage curricula nationwide.”

The state also doled out $250,000 to four crisis pregnancy centers, anti-choice institutions that are generally operated by religious organizations.  The primary goal is to talk women out of abortions, often via misleading information and questionable tactics.

What gives? DHS Secretary Carol Adams wrote to Smith that the agency “supports a myriad of services designed to address the goals of reducing teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. The Abstinence Education Program is part of the continuum of services designed to address these goals.”

That’s not a very convincing argument. There are a myriad of ways to teach math, but the state wouldn’t fund a school using discredited algebra equations. And there is precedent for turning down the funds, too; twenty-five state health departments currently reject federal abstinence money, up from 11 last year. DHS needs to focus all of its efforts on improving comprehensive sex education programs in the state. That’s where the real difference is made and where improvements are needed.

(H/T Mechanics)