In the months that followed, states started to turn away from the program. In October, New Jersey said it would do without the $800,000 it had been receiving. Wisconsin followed in March, when Democratic Gov. James Doyle said the state would no longer accept nearly $600,000.
"When we got that first memo, that did it for us," said Stephanie Marquis, a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Health and Family Services Department. "How can we do our best to teach the teens that are sexually active if our hands are tied?"
The rejection of the funds came as a blow to the nonprofit Center for Self-Sufficiency in suburban Milwaukee. It runs abstinence classes in schools and church groups statewide, as well as supporting efforts in New Jersey, Maryland and New York. Doyle's decision means the center will lose at least 20% of its annual $2.3-million budget, said its chief executive, Angela Turner.
"This whole debate has been hijacked by politics," Turner said. "Everyone's arguing, but everyone seems to forget that we all agree on one thing: Youth need to be educated about sex."
p.j.huffstutter@latimes.com
