This year, Congress plans to increase funding for abstinence-only sex education by $30 million, according to the Associated Press. This figure is about $100 million less than the increase President Bush requested.
In order to qualify for this federal funding, sex education programs can't include instruction on recognized methods of contraception. It's hard to talk about preventing HIV without mentioning condoms.
Obviously, students should be taught the benefits of abstinence, but it can never be assumed that the entire teenage population will wait until marriage to have sex.
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