Via Feministing and originally the Washington Post, the “evangelistic ministry” promoting “abstinence only”, called Silver Ring Thing, has been cut off from federal funding unless it makes certain changes to its program. And you’ll never guess why they have been threatened of being cut off from federal funding….
The Bush administration yesterday suspended a federal grant to the Silver Ring Thing abstinence program, saying it appears to use tax money for religious activities.
Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services ordered the group to submit a “corrective action plan” if it hopes to receive an expected $75,000 grant this year.
In a letter to the program director, Harry Wilson, associate commissioner of the Family and Youth Services Bureau, concluded that the project funded with federal dollars “includes both secular and religious components that are not adequately safeguarded.”[…]
Teenage graduates of the program sign a covenant “before God Almighty” to remain virgins and earn a silver ring inscribed with a Bible passage reminding them to “keep clear of sexual sin.” Many of its events are held at churches.
In filings with the Internal Revenue Service, the organization describes its mission as “evangelistic ministry” with an emphasis on “evangelistic crusade planning.”
Representatives of the Pennsylvania-based nonprofit describe Silver Ring Thing as a “faith-based” group but dispute charges it has commingled its public funds with religious activities.
“Any religious teaching that goes on is separate in time and place from what the government is funding,” said Joel Oster, senior litigation counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund, which is representing the Silver Ring Thing. “They offer a religious program and they offer a secular program; kids can choose which one they want to go to.”
In an advertisement on its Web site for a set of educational materials on DVD, Silver Ring Thing promises: “A secular program is also in development.”[…]
Why hasn’t it already been developed and available to SRT participants, if they are or have been always able to take secular version of the program? And now, I have to give some props–grudgingly–to the Bush Administration for actually making a smart move with its “abstinence only” crusade. (lazily claps for the Bush Admin.). If they’re going to flood young people with all the misinformation, anti-women’s-sexuality, homophobic, and anti-sex mythical jargon that goes along with abstinence only “education”, the least thing they can do is not waste tax dollars funding for blatantly religious organizations in order to do so, and deny a lot of young people factual and intelligent information about their sexuality and reproductive health.
When you're defending nazi salutes, you're telling me that you're a nazi.