June 2014 – President Barack Obama’s proposed 2015 budget would have eliminated funding for abstinence education. Under that budget plan, current funding for sexual risk avoidance, or SRA, programs in schools would have expired on September 31 this year.
However, the House and Senate reallocated the funding as part of a larger appropriations bill. The president was forced to approve abstinence funding as part of the necessary larger bill. The funding for abstinence programs will now continue until September 2015.
According to the latest stats from National Abstinence Education Association, a large number of teens were among those who gathered on Capitol Hill in early April to urge their congressional representatives to continue funding for abstinence programs. According to NAEA, 75% of 15-to-17-year-olds have not engaged in sexual intercourse, and those who have say they regret it.
