Federal abstinence grants awarded

In case you missed it, the federal grants from Family and Youth Services were announced recently. There were several Pregnancy Care Centers which received approximately $600,000 per year for five years to do Community-Based Abstinence Education Programs. Only one entity in North Carolina was on the list: Halifax County Schools. Check out the list by clicking here.

Ready or Not

I recently posted an article about organizations which receive federal funds, and then use those funds to undermine U.S. policy overseas. The following article gets filed under the same general category of “shooting ourselves in the foot.”

A friend pointed out a book that’s in at least one Wake County public school. It’s called Ready or Not, by Meg Cabot, author of the beloved Princess Diaries series of books. Ready or Not is a stark departure from the wholesome series that readers have come to expect from Cabot. The book is all about teenage sex and condoms and contraceptives. It ends with our heroine, Samantha, impulsively deciding to have sex with her boyfriend while visiting his family for Thanksgiving holidays. Here are some examples of what you can expect to find in the book designed for 12, 13 and 14-year-olds.

Planned Parenthood monopoly

The state of Virginia has become the 14th state to reject federal abstinence education funds—creating a “virtual monopoly for Planned Parenthood”, according to a report from the Family Research Council today.

Changing cultural ideologies

Cindy Anderson had an insightful response to my recent post on Planned Parenthood and federal funding. On her blog, The Write Reason, she suggested a third alternative to the battle.

Hearts or feet?

Lisa Bistreich, a blogger and public relations person in the Research Triangle Park took issue with my post about Planned Parenthood.

Let’s talk—Federal funding used to oppose U.S. policy

Should organizations that receive sizable grants from the federal government be permitted to use those grants to undermine and oppose United States policy abroad?Would you consider this offense to be even more egregious if this opposition coincided with a drive for increased profits? To exacerbate matters, the worldwide expansion of Internet access and globalization amplify the influence of these organizations as they work counter to official U.S. policy.

The actions of Planned Parenthood are a good case in point. The organization’s 2005-2006 Annual Report shows it received $305-million in government contracts and grants. While accepting these funds, Planned Parenthood has actively opposed the ABC program in Africa that promotes abstinence first in fighting HIV/AIDS. This opposition flies directly in the face of official U.S. policy in this area.