Abstinence Education vs. Contraceptive
Sex Education Funding Comparison
Funding to promote contraceptives and “safe sex” education among teens is 10 times higher than funding for abstinence education. An estimated $1.8 billion is spent promoting “safe sex” initiatives vs. $176 million on promoting abstinence.
Abstinence Education |
Comprehensive Education |
||
| Funding Source | Amount1 (millions) | Funding Source | Amount2 (millions) |
| Title V | $50 | Medicaid | $149 |
| AFL | $13 | TANF | $181 |
| CBAE | $113 | Title X | $50 |
| Subtotal | $176 Million | Subtotal | $380 Million |
| 13 other federal funding sources3 , including CDC DASH, Social Services Block Grants, MCHB Grants, HIV/AIDS/STD prevention monies under HRSA, CDC, IHS, and other agencies, plus state and local funding | $1,400 Million | ||
| Total Funding for Abstinence Education | $176 Million | Total Funding for Contraceptive Education | $1,800 Million ($1.8 Billion) |
1 FY 2007.
2 Based on 2005 data (except for Medicaid which was based on 2003 data), these expenditures reflect contraception promotion and safe sex education efforts among teens and are calculated using the spending calculation methodology in Melissa Pardue, Robert Rector, and Shannan Martin, “Government Spends $12 on Safe Sex and Contraceptives for Every $1 Spent on Abstinence,” Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No. 1718, January 14, 2004 at http://www.heritage.org/research/family/upload/54447_1.pdf.
3 Ibid. Key sources of data for this portion of the Heritage analysis are the GAO report, “Teen Pregnancy: State and Federal Efforts to Implement Prevention Programs and Measure Their Effectiveness” and “Public Funding for Contraceptive, Sterilization and Abortion Services, FY 1980-2001” by The Alan Guttmacher Institute.
