November 2004 Cover
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The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded the Catholic Diocese of Orlando's ThinkSmart abstinence program a three-year, $2.4 million grant. ThinkSmart sends educators to Orlando schools and encourages teenagers to avoid risky behaviors, including sex
before marriage. The program promotes the idea that abstinence is the "only protection that is 100 percent effective" against STDs or pregnancy and does not provide students with information about condoms or other contraceptives.
The HHS money will be used to start after-school programs called S.T.A.R.S. (Students Today Aren't Ready for Sex) clubs. The grant will boost ThinkSmart's yearly budget almost eightfold, allowing it to reach nearly 2,600 12- to 18-year-olds each year.
HHS plans to spend around $260 million in the next year on sex-education programs that focus solely on abstinence.
Editor's Note: from the Orlando Sentinel
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