House Oversight Committee Holds Hearing Assessing the Evidence of Domestic Abstinence-Only Programs

April 18, 2008 -- The Committee will hold a hearing titled, “Domestic Abstinence-Only Programs: Assessing the Evidence” on Wednesday, April 23, 2008, in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.

Federally-funded abstinence-only programs require the exclusive teaching of abstinence until marriage and prohibit teaching about condoms or other contraceptives — other than to discuss failure rates. These programs have received over $1.3 billion in federal funding over the past decade. Medical and scientific experts, as well as youth educators, will testify regarding the public health evidence of the effectiveness of abstinence-only programs and of more comprehensive programs.

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o Ms. Shelby Knox, Youth Speaker
o Mr. Max Siegel, Policy Associate, AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth, and Families
o Dr. Georges Benjamin, M.D., Executive Director, American Public Health Association
o Dr. Margaret Blythe, M.D., Chair, Committee on Adolescence, American Academy of Pediatrics
o Dr. John Santelli, M.D., M.P.H., Department Chair, Professor of Clinical Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health and Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University
o Dr. Stan Weed, Institute for Research and Evaluation
o Mr. Charles Keckler, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
o Dr. Harvey Fineberg, M.D., Ph.D., President, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies
o Dr. Marcia Crosse, Director , Healthcare, U.S. Government Accountability Office

Source: House Oversight Committee