Obama Cuts Funding for Abstinence-Only Programs

President Barack Obama's budget will eliminate most federal funding for abstinence-only programs, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Obama's proposed budget eliminates two Bush-era programs and allocates $110 million for teen pregnancy prevention programs, which may include discussions on birth control, according to several reports.

Twenty-five percent of federal funding would be open to abstinence-only education programs.

Many have argued that current abstinence-only programs are not effective, and national health statistics continue to show consistently high U.S. teen birth rates. Others argue that an abstinence-only approach is the best way to reduce unwanted pregnancy.

If approved by Congress, Obama's 2010 budget will help to create two teen pregnancy prevention initiatives to "support community-based and faith-based efforts to reduce teen pregnancy using evidence-based and promising models."

The White House yesterday released the details of Obama's 2010 budget, which includes 121 cuts that total $17 billion -- a fraction of the $3.4 trillion budget.

According to the Journal, Obama left out discussion of the change in policy on two conference calls dedicated to the budget this week and didn't include it on the overview document.

Contact Us