President Bush’s budget proposal for 2009 includes $204 million to support Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) — a $28 million increase over last year’s budget for the program.
U.S. Reps. Lee Terry, R-Neb., and Mike McIntyre, D-N.C., have co-signed a letter to the chairman and the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, urging support for CBAE funding and current guidelines.
The president’s proposal coincides with a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing that one in four teen girls in the U.S. has a sexually transmitted infection (STI).
“With 3 million teen girls infected with STIs, safer sex in adolescents does not exist,” said Linda Klepacki, sexual health analyst for Focus on the Family Action. “For the current and future health of teens, we must teach them how to have strong relationships not based on sex.”
