The federal government's "no sex without marriage" message isn't just for kids anymore.

Now the government is targeting unmarried adults up to age 29 as part of its abstinence-only programs, which include millions of dollars in federal money that will be available to the states under revised federal grant guidelines for 2007.

The government says the change is a clarification. But critics say it's a clear signal of a more directed policy targeting the sexual behavior of adults.

"They've stepped over the line of common sense," said James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit that supports sex education. "To be preaching abstinence when 90% of people are having sex is in essence to lose touch with reality. It's an ideological campaign. It has nothing to do with public health."

Need I stress the sentence that says it will "Include millions of dollars in federal money that will be available to the states under revised federal grant guidelines for 2007."

Right now, my buddies who write grants (I did for seven years) are chomping at the bit trying to obtain grant money for pre-existing programs.

I think this is political. Pure and simple. The money could go to other things. When it comes to talking to adults about sex, I just don't think this is going to work and it's a waste of money that could go to helping people on a variety of more tangible levels.

¶ 10/31/2006 12:53:00 PM