ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Gov. Tim Pawlenty has accepted a federal grant for abstinence-only teen sex education, but rejected a larger grant that incorporates additional information about contraception and sexually-transmitted disease prevention.
The $500,000 grant for abstinence-only education requires the state to provide $379,000 in matching funds. The $850,000 grant that Pawlenty rejected had no strings attached.
The governor's decision has raised the ire of political opponents and teen health care advocates who say Pawlenty is putting his presidential ambitions ahead of the health of Minnesota teens.
University of Minnesota adolescent health researcher Michael Resnick tells the Star Tribune broad-based sex education has been proven most effective at persuading kids to postpone sex.
