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Abortion-rights groups Tuesday denounced Gov. Bob McDonnell's decision to seek a federal grant for abstinence-only sex education while shunning funds available for comprehensive pregnancy and disease-prevention instruction.
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Virginia's Health Department recently applied for a $1.27 million federal grant for supplementary abstinence instruction funds.
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"Given Virginia's economic situation, wasting $400,000 of taxpayer money for an ineffective program is not a good use of the commonwealth's limited resources" wrote Jessica Honke, the group's policy director.
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"The simple fact is that young people deserve honest information, not political ideology, in their health classrooms." The Family Foundation of Virginia defended McDonnell's choice.
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State Sen. Ralph Northam, a Norfolk Democrat and a physician, said abstinence should be the goal but said he is disappointed McDonnell chose to disregard the chance to acquire federal dollars with more flexibility of use.
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While abstinence is the only guaranteed way to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, Northam said, "the reality is with teenagers their hormones come into play, and abstinence-only doesn't always work."
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"We should at least teach our teenagers, I believe, all aspects of family planning and all the options that are available," Northam added. "There should be a comprehensive plan to sex education that strongly encourages abstinence-only, but it needs to be comprehensive."
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