Currently, the federal government is slated to spend more than $1 billion in abstinence-only educationthrough 2008. Federal funding is denied institutions that provide facts about homosexuality, same-sex marriage or birth control.

The Responsible Education About Life Act was presented by Reps. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and Christopher Shays, R-Conn., and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, and would grant $206 million per year to states for comprehensive sexuality education.

Of the 19 million cases of sexually transmitted disease annually in the United States, nearly half strike young people ages 15 to 24, Lee and the other lawmakers said in a written statement.

"We need to get real about sex education," Lee said in the statement. "We should absolutely be teaching young people about abstinence, but we shouldn't be holding back information that can save lives and prevent unwanted pregnancies. Instead of 'abstinence only,' what we're proposing is 'abstinence-plus.' "

Goosey's Gabbings...

I applaud this effort to giving information to teens in a format that discusses all angles and appropriately demonstrates more of a realistic approach to sex education. While the content and context of these changes remain to be seen, I am confident that in the world we live in today, that this will be far more effective than just simply preaching abstinence. Again, with proper parenting and instruction, this can be a powerful message given to our youth.

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