As if we needed any more proof that America needs REAL sex education, Sen. John McCain provided it last week. McCain was completely baffled by a question about whether he believed that federal funding for contraceptives—including condoms—in Africa could help slow the spread of HIV/AIDS.
He must have gotten his information from one of many federally funded abstinence-only programs that seem designed to undermine confidence in contraceptives.
Or, maybe this was just another example of political prevarication. But political calculation like this is exposing American youth to ideologically driven abstinence-only programs that leave them woefully ill-prepared to make healthy, responsible decisions about sexuality. That these programs are often filled with wild exaggerations of contraceptive failure rates and other gross medical and scientific inaccuracies leave many young people truly unsure of whether condoms can help protect them from unwanted pregnancy and STD's.
