New Jersey Requiring Abstinence-Only Organizations to Work with Planned Parenthood
The New Jersey Department of Health is requiring abstinence only nonprofit organizations to partake in youth development training programs that are heavily administered by Planned Parenthood.
Under the provisions, several nonprofits that otherwise focus on Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) would have to allocate some of their Title V federal grants to the Planned Parenthood programs, according to sources who told the World Tribune in a Thursday report.
The funds allocated go toward sending representatives to a “Youth Advisory Board” (YAB) where members are guided on subjects like, “How Do You Know When You’re Ready to Have Sex?”
“If federal guidelines for Title V Sexual Risk Avoidance Block Grants specify that funds are for Sexual Risk Avoidance Education only, how does Planned Parenthood, contraception and dental dams fit into those guidelines?” the source asked the Tribune. “Actually, they don’t.”
States may use Title V funds for “mentoring, counseling or adult supervision programs to promote abstinence,” according to Family & Youth Services Bureau website.
At a youth leadership training held in Lincroft, New Jersey, brochures like “do I have condoms and/or dental dams – and know how to use them?” and “Birth Control: A Teen’s Guide” were available for attendees to take on July 2, according to the Tribune. Adults and youth attendees were in separate groups and adults were not told what was discussed in the “private” meetings of youth and the Youth Advisory Board (YAB) trainers, according to an SRAE adult coordinate who told the Tribune.
In a letter to YAB members, the New Jersey Department of Health’s Child and Adolescent Health Program said the seminar would be a safe setting for YAB members to connect with fellow peers to discuss topics affecting New Jersey communities.
“This is particularly problematic since they are involving programs that have the goal of empowering youth to AVOID sexual activity, not learn how to do it ‘better,’” a source said to the Tribune.
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