The best thing about President Bush’s proposed budget for next year is that it’s the last one we’ll see from him. Things don’t look good for safe sex next year. The proposed budget would cut family planning for Medicaid by $3.3 billion over five years, flat-fund Title X, and increase funding for abstinence-only sex education programs by 24%. The budget would also cut international family planning funds, among other cuts that spell bad news for people trying to avoid unwanted pregnancies and STDs.
This isn’t exactly in keeping with the Department of Health and Human Services’ mission to “assist individuals in determining the number and spacing of their children through the provision of education, counseling, and medical services.” Abstinence-only sex education is, however, in keeping with the mission statement on Adolescent Family Life (despite the fact that we know that abstinence-only is ineffective), but the proposed budget cuts for Medicaid and international aid have as much or more to do with married or older couples as sexually active teens. While the overall HHS budget is increasing, this part of their mission statement is being ignored, and so are the low-income and disenfranchised people who need these health care and education programs.
So where is the increase for abstinence-only coming from? Maybe from the nearly $200 billion Bush wants to cut from Medicare and Medicaid over the next 5 years (including the $3.3 billion already mentioned). Or maybe from the $8 million he wants to cut from programs that serve metropolitan areas hit hardest by HIV/AIDS. Or the $5 million he wants to take away from AIDS Education Training Centers. Incidentally, of the money that does get spent on HIV/AIDS prevention, one third of it must go to fund abstinence-only programs. Democrats sound like they’re ready to fight, but I expect we’ll have to wait for someone a little more progressive in the White House to see real change in the country’s sex education and family planning policy.
Broken Rubbers 