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Dear Colleagues,
We wanted to send a brief note to follow-up on the incredible hearing that took place last week. It was a historic event--it was the first ever hearing on the effectiveness of federally funded abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in the history of the programs--and was a huge success!
Led by Chairman Henry Waxman, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform heard from three panels of witnesses--including leading medical and sexual health experts from across the country who testified on the ineffectiveness of the programs and youth speakers who testified to the program's ill effects on their lives and the lives of their peers. Dr. Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association; Dr. Margaret Blythe, Chair of the Committee on Adolescence, American Academy of Pediatrics; Dr. John Santelli, a leading sexual health researcher; Max Siegel, Policy Associate at AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth & Families; and Shelby Knox, speaker and organizer, all represented our issues amazingly well. They did not leave Republicans who supported the programs or the minority witness, Stan Weed, a leg to stand on!
A huge thank you to everyone who submitted a statement for the Congressional record! Over 60 national, state, and local organizations submitted statements criticizing abstinence-only-until-marriage programs and calling for an end to federal funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs.
For those that missed the hearing, you can view the video here: http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1910
You can read the testimony of those who testified as well as read Chairman Waxman's opening statement here: http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1888
The website RH Reality Check has been posting several points of view about the hearing. Here is the first part of my own optimistic assessment of the hearing in an entry this morning. It can be found at:
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2008/04/30/hearings-highlight-ab-only-industry-in-peril
And, finally, for a good laugh, the Daily Show did a piece on the hearing last night. It can be found here: http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=167331&title=the-global-war-in-your-pants
We will be back in touch soon with more follow-up. If you have any questions or want more information, please do not hesitate to be in touch.
Best,
Bill Smith
Vice President for Public Policy
SIECUS
We wanted to send a brief note to follow-up on the incredible hearing that took place last week. It was a historic event--it was the first ever hearing on the effectiveness of federally funded abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in the history of the programs--and was a huge success!
Led by Chairman Henry Waxman, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform heard from three panels of witnesses--including leading medical and sexual health experts from across the country who testified on the ineffectiveness of the programs and youth speakers who testified to the program's ill effects on their lives and the lives of their peers. Dr. Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association; Dr. Margaret Blythe, Chair of the Committee on Adolescence, American Academy of Pediatrics; Dr. John Santelli, a leading sexual health researcher; Max Siegel, Policy Associate at AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth & Families; and Shelby Knox, speaker and organizer, all represented our issues amazingly well. They did not leave Republicans who supported the programs or the minority witness, Stan Weed, a leg to stand on!
A huge thank you to everyone who submitted a statement for the Congressional record! Over 60 national, state, and local organizations submitted statements criticizing abstinence-only-until-marriage programs and calling for an end to federal funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs.
For those that missed the hearing, you can view the video here: http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1910
You can read the testimony of those who testified as well as read Chairman Waxman's opening statement here: http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1888
The website RH Reality Check has been posting several points of view about the hearing. Here is the first part of my own optimistic assessment of the hearing in an entry this morning. It can be found at:
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2008/04/30/hearings-highlight-ab-only-industry-in-peril
And, finally, for a good laugh, the Daily Show did a piece on the hearing last night. It can be found here: http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=167331&title=the-global-war-in-your-pants
We will be back in touch soon with more follow-up. If you have any questions or want more information, please do not hesitate to be in touch.
Best,
Bill Smith
Vice President for Public Policy
SIECUS