US’ $50 million abstinence fund for 29-year-olds

Kevin Freaking

WASHINGTON: The US government is putting $50 million on the line to try to get unmarried people as old as 29 not to have sex.

Guidelines for this year’s programme, known as Title V, include new wording about the populations that are the focus of abstinence education. The age range cited is 12 through 29 years old.

Wade Horn, assistant secretary for the Administration for Children and Families, said on Monday that Congress has stipulated that the money should be targeted to those most likely to bear children out-of-wedlock. He said his agency is not trying to expand who should be the target of abstinence education. “All we did in our announcement was say if you want to target this age group it’s permissive. It’s not a requirement,” Horn said.

Although previous information on the grant programme focused on teens, one section of a grant announcement said states should discuss the educational needs of people ages 20-24 and older.

One advocacy group says using abstinence education for twenty-somethings will not work. That’s because more than 90 per cent already have had sexual intercourse, said James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, an organisation that helps young people make responsible decisions about sexual health.

The federal government finances three different programmes advocating abstinence.