Congress Considers Cuts to Oklahoma’s Abstinence-Only Programs (May 02, 2008)
Consider this: twenty new babies are being born to Oklahoma teens every single day. The state ranks in the top ten in the country for highest number of teenage births. On top of teenage births, 6500 Oklahoma kids between ages 13 and 16 are living with a sexually transmitted disease. Democrats in Congress say the way to reduce such statistics is to spend more money on sex education that teaches kids about condoms and STDs. They’re calling for cuts to abstinence-only programs that exist in many schools in Oklahoma and other states. But the Bush Administration and some lawmakers think that would be a mistake. Sara Sciammacco reports from Washington.

Guests include Oklahoma Congressman Tom Cole; Stan Weed, a Utah-based consultant who studies abstinence programs; Dr. Margaret Blythe of the American Academy of Pediatrics; AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth and Families Policy Associate Max Siegel and Stillwater school nurse Mary Ellen Holley.

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