Washington, D.C.—The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has proposed launching a biased data collection project called IDEAS intended to generate “evidence” to support primarily religious, abstinence-only programs.
Abstinence-only programs are unethical, promote misinformation, fear, gender stereotypes, and shaming tactics, and leave out important aspects of comprehensive sex education.
After more than $2 billion over the past three decades wasted by the government on abstinence-only programs, we already know they are ineffective in delaying sexual initiation, in reducing unwanted pregnancy, and in changing sexual risk behavior among youth.
Because the federal government already collects data on the efficacy of sex education programs, ACF’s new efforts are even more wasteful and unnecessary.
We need as many people as possible to take action and to tell ACF that this propagandistic survey is not acceptable, by the deadline of June 1st!
Please take a few minutes to talk about why this issue is important to you or how it affects you and your loved ones. If you are one of the thousands of Americans who had a negative experience relating to abstinence-only programs, have a child in high school, or belong to a specific group that faces exclusion because of these programs, such as LGBTQ people, we encourage you to address that in your comment.
