Mass. Governor's Pro-Abstinence Power Play Rebuffed
by Jim Brown
March 15, 2005
(AgapePress) - The governor of Massachusetts has suffered a setback in his attempt to restrict federal "abstinence-only" funds to public school classrooms.Governor Mitt Romney has proposed budget language that would have prevented the Massachusetts Department of Public Health from spending roughly $800,000 in federal money on a media campaign instead of for its designated purpose: abstinence-only education. The original wording would have given the department the option of using the money either for classroom education or for outreach methods such as TV or subway ads.
However both the House and Senate in the Bay State have rejected the governor's proposed restriction. A spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts told Associated Press that she applauded the legislature's actions. The vote, she said, showed that lawmakers "understand how important this issue is, and that they want to see these funds used in a way that makes sense."
Pro-family activist Brian Camenker with the Article 8 Alliance says he is puzzled as to why Romney did not act independently of the legislature.
"One of the things that really sort of seems laughable about this whole thing is that the governor, one would think, controls the Department of Public Health -- and if the governor wanted to, he could just order them to spend it properly," Camenker observes. "So I'm a little confused as to why he's going through this charade."
The activist says the legislature's move is unfortunate because federal funding for abstinence education is often spent inappropriately by the state's Health Department on media ads.
"Planned Parenthood-types in the various departments of public health around the country ... subvert that money, since they don't like abstinence teaching, to very, very expensive media campaigns that [tells children] 'Don't have sex -- but if you have to, use a condom,'" he says.
A spokeswoman for Governor Romney says the best way for teens to receive an abstinence message is "in the classroom in a more personal setting."
The House rejected Romney's plan on a 105-44 vote. Moments later, the Senate followed suit on a voice vote.
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
