'Chastity czar' says abstinence is cool

WASHINGTON — The new chief of the federal program to promote sexual abstinence — dubbed the "chastity czar" — says he wants to make it socially acceptable for American teens to just say "no" to sex.

Wade F. Horn, 50, assistant secretary for children and families in the Department of Health and Human Services, says youths who don't engage in sex now "don't feel supported in that choice."

"They believe the broader culture sees them as odd, that they are strange if they commit to abstinence," Horn said. "I want to give young people a fighting chance to make the healthiest choice to preserve their futures."

Horn says he also wants to reach teens who have already been sexually active with the message that "you no longer have to be sexually active." He said he rejects the notion that "once the ice cream is out of the freezer, it's already melted."

A clinical child psychologist who led the Bush administration's initiative to promote healthy marriages and oversees the Head Start program, Horn says he's "passionate" about teenage sexual abstinence.

"I'm a goal guy," he said. "The only thing that's unstoppable is time."

Horn blames Hollywood for giving "irresponsible" messages that casual sex has no consequences.

"It's undeniable that the only 100 percent effective way of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease is to be sexually abstinent," Horn says.

The huge government spending bill that Congress again takes up this week contains an additional $30 million for abstinence-only education, bringing the total to $168 million for the 2005 fiscal year that began Oct. 1. Horn will oversee $50 million that goes to states and $105 million that goes to community organizations to teach abstinence to 12- to 18-year-olds.

In Utah, Nan Streeter heads up the state Health Department's Maternal and Child Health Bureau, which doles out the grants to local health departments and nonprofit organizations. The dollars here target children age 9 to 14 years old to help them develop healthy choices, she said.

While Streeter says targeting 9-year-olds may seem young, "you do see 11-year-olds getting pregnant."

She said the programs are intended to focus more on childrens' abilities to make good choices across the board — from relationships to avoiding drugs and alcohol.

The money also funds a "parent piece" designed specifically to help adults teach their children.