Dobson's World

One of the more ridiculous Christian Right programs just got defunded by the federal government. At least partially: Gov't Settles Suit Over 'Religious Activities' of Abstinence Group Christian Post 02/24/06.

The program in question is called "Silver Ring Thing" which combined heavy Christian proselytizing with a dangerously misleading miseducational campaign aimed at promoting abstinence among horny teenagers by, among other things, giving them grossly misleading information about safe sex and birth control. I think of it as a program to promote unplanned pregnancies and encourage the spread of AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases.

The federal government settled a suit brought by the ACLU by agreeing to only fund non-religious programs by the group. The suit apparently did not specifically challenge the validity of funding the non-religious disinformation campaign to promate unplanned pregnancy and STDs. The article notes:

Although it was not addressed in the settlement, the suit involves a conflict between organizations that hold differing views on the effectiveness of abstinence-until-marriage programs in preventing pregnancy and disease.

The ACLU opposes such programs because it says they are not effective in helping teens delay sex and that the programs could deter teens from protecting themselves from unintended pregnancy or disease when they do start having sex.

But this one was a victory for good sense. And the First Amendment forbidding government sponsorhip of religion.

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