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  • Title: [Sex, lies, and Title XX].
    Author: Stutsman R.
    Journal: ZPG Report; 1992 Apr; 24(2):3. PubMed ID: 12285222.
    Abstract:
    Adopted as a response to the lack of reproductive health education in US schools, the Adolescent Family Life Act (Title XX) has actually served to spread misinformation and has placed millions of dollars in the hands of groups opposed to family planning and abortion. The US leads all industrialized countries in adolescent pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates. And generally, US teens are less informed about responsible sexual behavior and pregnancy prevention. With the advent of AIDS, such information becomes all the more critical. In 1981, the federal government established Title XX. Defying the reality that over half of all adolescents have already engaged in sexual intercourse, Title XX centers around "family life education," which preaches abstinence until marriage and denies the need for information about contraceptives. Title XX precludes funding to any group that "advocates, encourages, or promotes abortion." After 11 years of operation, the Department of Health and Human Services has yet to develop guidelines for the administration of the program. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), over 1/2 of all Title XX funds have gone to groups that advance religious beliefs against abortion, teen sex, and contraception. As the ACLU has charged in a lawsuit, this amounts to a violation of the constitutional ban on government-sponsored religion. In order to fill the vacuum left virtually intact by Title XX, 47 national and local organizations have joined a task force led by the Sex Information and Education Council of the US (SIECUS) in developing national guidelines for sex education. But unless people voice their opposition to Title XX, more public funds will continue to flow to groups opposed to family planning.
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