Glancing at the past- The Bush Administration on Abstinence-Only Programs

Planned Parenthood of America has taken a closer look at program funding a new grant offered by the Bush Administration, only to find that it will be “Ineffective”.

Planned Parenthood was formed over 90 years ago as a resource, mainly for women, to go to in order to make informed, educated and independent decisions as it relates to sex, health and family planning. Today, it still adheres by those morals. Many women today are faced with obstacles that were not looked at in the past but still, Planned Parenthood has been there to help women cope with many of the new and old problems that they face today.

What the Bush Administration has been found by Planned Parenthood to be distorting facts surrounding the funding of the Title V. This brings uncertainty to state funded programs. This Title V has not increased abstinence or delayed sexual initiation in our youth population however by using Title V as an excuse for an extension on funding this program however it will only fund it if the state will use the money as abstinence-only funding.

This presents a major problem for Planned Parenthood because it does not line up with their mission statement or goals. They want to help in informing young women in giving them the independence to make educated decisions to better their future. This funding would not help any of the young women to make independent decisions of their own, rather, restricting them from their independence on the choices they make.

“The facts are clear: abstinence only programs do not work,” said PFFA President Cecile Richards. “The government’s own evaluation of Title V found that these programs did nothing to increase abstinence or delay sexual initiation among participating youth.”

In conforming to these new and hopeful policies that the Bush Administration wished to enforce, Planned Parenthood has come to the consensus that this plan would not help what their organization wishes to carry out in the days to come. It is clear this is something that many women in Connecticut and across the nation would not benefit from.