IP: Government subsidizes activities for celibate teens

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> Date: Sun, 07 Nov 1999 12:29:30 -0700
> To: farber () cis upenn edu, ip-sub-1 () admin listbox com
> From: Brett Glass <brett () lariat org>
> Subject: Government subsidizes activities for celibate teens
>
> http://www.denverpost.com/news/news1107c.htm
>
> Program rewards kids' abstinence
>
> By Mark Obmascik Denver Post Staff Writer
>
> Nov. 7 - In the age-old fight by grownups against teen sex, the adults 
> have added a new twist: government swing dance lessons for the celibate.
>
> To reward high school students who say no to sex - and then agree to teach 
> their peers about the joy of abstinence - a federally financed education 
> program in Longmont has been buying teens free instruction in the steps of 
> the Big Band era.
>
> The same program also subsidized tae kwon do lessons and a laser-tag 
> session for teens who sign papers agreeing to remain sex-free.
>
> It's all part of the U.S. government's abstinence education program, which 
> is spending $50 million a year nationally, and $544,383 a year for five 
> years in Colorado, to discourage sex among young Americans. In Colorado, 
> local programs spend from $40 to $829 per student per year to persuade 
> teens to keep their virginity.
>
> ....
>
> "How many teenagers are going to believe instruction by Congress that sex 
> outside of marriage will make you crazy and physically harm you?'' asked 
> Katie Reinisch, spokeswoman for Colorado Planned Parenthood. "Our fear is 
> that many of these programs are based on religion, not public health. 
> People will be learning fear and shame instead of responsibility. They'll 
> be taught that a wedding ring will protect more than a condom.''

_____________________________________________________________________
David Farber
The Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Telecommunication Systems
University of Pennsylvania
Home Page: http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~farber
Email: farber () cis upenn edu

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