Friday, April 01, 2005

Government Abstinence Site Draws Ire

An array of advocacy groups are calling on the federal government to take down one of its new Web sites, saying it presents biased and inaccurate advice to parents on how to talk to their children about sex.
The site — 4parents.gov — stresses the promotion of abstinence.
Emphasizing abstinence is fine, said the groups, but the government also should stress the need for contraception if sexual relations do occur.
"There's this misconception that giving young people negative information about contraception will encourage them not to have sexual intercourse, when all it will do is encourage them not to have contraception, so the strategy backfires," Monica Rodriguez, an official at the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, said Thursday.

No comments: