Creep of the Week: National Abstinence Education Association

Flash back to 1991. The soundtrack? "People Are Still Having Sex" by LaTour, a one-hit-wonder dance-pop act. Over a throbbing beat a deep manly voice asks, "Have you noticed that people are still having sex? All the denouncement had absolutely no effect."
Bust out those acid-washed jeans and get your fade on, because last week Congress released a report that essentially appointed LaTour as the official spokespeople for abstinence-only sex education.
According to an April 13 article by the Associated Press, "Students who participated in sexual abstinence programs were just as likely to have sex a few years later as those who did not, according to a long-awaited study mandated by Congress." They also had sex at about the same age as students who didn't have abstinence-only sex ed: 14.9 years of age.
So it's official. Abstinence-only sex education, which excludes gay and lesbian teens, doesn't work. And we can expect the Bush administration to do what it always does when faced with the facts.
Nothing.
According to the AP, "Bush administration officials cautioned against drawing sweeping conclusions from the study." After all, the four programs studied were only some of the country's oldest, most established.
"This report confirms that these interventions are not like vaccines. You can't expect one dose in middle school, or a small dose, to be protective all throughout the youth's high school career," said Harry Wilson, the commissioner of the Family and Youth Services Bureau at the Administration for Children and Families.
In other words, this report doesn't prove that abstinence-only education doesn't work. It just proves that abstinence-only education needs to be bigger, harder and stronger.
And, surprise, surprise, the National Abstinence Education Association agrees.
"This study began when (the programs) were still in their infancy," said Valerie Huber, executive director of the NAEA. "The field of abstinence has significantly grown and evolved since that time and the results demonstrated in the … study are not representative of the abstinence education community as a whole."
Bear in mind that the NAEA recently hired the same PR firm behind the infamous "Swift Boat Veterans" ads to help bolster support for failing abstinence-only policies, according to RH Reality Check.
But Huber is right about one thing: the field of abstinence has grown significantly since the Bush Regime took over. However, it hasn't become more effective, it's just become more politically entrenched and has had more money thrown at it – to the tune of $176 million federal dollars annually, in fact. It may not be effective, but it's big business.
This summer Congress considers renewing Title V, the block grant program for abstinence education. Proponents of comprehensive sex education hope this report will impact their decision.
"Members of Congress need to listen to what the evidence tells us," said William Smith, vice president for public policy at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States. "This report should give a clear signal to members of Congress that the program should be changed to support programs that work."