New Jersey Rejects Abstinence Funding

The State of New Jersey will not accept federal abstinence dollars--since doing so requires teachers to say that sex within marriage is best, the Kaiser Network reported this week.

The state's health and education department sent a letter to the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that declines about $800,000 in abstinence-education funds -- the first time the state has declined such funds since 1997.

Fred Jacobs, the state health commissioner, said the requirements for schools to teach abstinence until marriage are too limiting.

"Monogamy is not a bad idea," he said, "but having the government of New Jersey dictate these things for families is not something we wish to do."

State government, he said, shouldn't create a standard for sexual activity.

But Linda Klepacki, analyst for sexual health at Focus on the Family Action, said remaining sexually abstinent is the best health choice for any person before marriage.

"And state government has always had a place in determining the best preventative health care for students," she said. "This has been the standard since health education began in public schools. Abstinence not only prevents sexually transmitted infections, it also allows individuals to reach their highest goals."