Stop the ACLU Blogburst - Abstinence is Dangerous

As reported in CULTURE DIGEST: Government stops funding "Silver Ring Thing".

Mar 1, 2006
By Erin Curry Roach
Baptist Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--The government funding for a faith-based abstinence program called Silver Ring Thing was suspended last August but now it will be ended altogether, due to a persistent attack by the American Civil Liberties Union. The program can be eligible to compete for federal grants in the future only if it ensures that the money will not be used for religious purposes.

The agreement between the Department of Health and Human Services and the ACLU was reached Feb. 22, according to the Associated Press.

In August, when funding for the program was temporarily lifted pending further investigation, Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, said, "These programs have been proved not only ineffective, but also dangerous to the health and well-being of teens."

Joel Oster, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, the group representing Silver Ring Thing in the lawsuit, wondered if Rose could possibly be serious in her assessment.

"Programs like Silver Ring Thing have been proven to be effective," he said. "Leave it to the ACLU to come to the absurd conclusion that abstinence programs are dangerous to the health of teens."

Silver Ring Thing received more than $1 million in federal funding during the past three years, but the ACLU complained that the rings teenagers receive when they pledge to remain sexually abstinent until marriage are inscribed with a Bible verse and the potential for Jesus to improve their lives is too often touted.

Has anyone ever asked Carol Rose to define "danger" or to name exactly what abstinence programs are ineffective at? Perhaps she's referring to it's ineffectiveness at filling abortion clinics and the welfare rolls.




This was a production of Stop The ACLU Blogburst. If you would like to join us, please email Jay or Gribbit. You will be added to our mailing list and blogroll. Over 150 blogs already on-board



File Under : Stop The ACLU, Pro-Life, and Did I Just Say That Outloud?

Social bookmark this