A story released today by the States News Service reports that a family planning group has launched a multi-state television and print ad campaign aimed at pressuring key lawmakers, including Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, to fight a renewal of the six-year program against abstinence-only sex education,.

The National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association is focusing on Snowe because she is a member of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, which will soon consider abstinence-only provision as part of larger legislation intended to revise the landmark 1996 welfare reform act.

"Congress wants to spend taxpayers' money on programs that withhold potentially life-saving information about disease and pregnancy prevention from teens," said the family planning group's president, Judith Desarno, during a press announcement of the campaign. "While most people agree that teaching teens skills to delay sexual activity is helpful, Americans overwhelmingly support sex education that gives teens medically accurate information about contraception."

President George Bush supports the abstinence approach in sex education and has urged Congress to sustain the current funding of $50 million a year, which could be used to fund classes sponsored by public schools, non-profit groups and faith-based organizations. The president has also called for another $88 million to help fund private organizations that follow strict guidelines that prohibit mentioning contraception except in the context of its shortcomings.

"The idea is to try to achieve a goal of rough parity," said Bill Pearce, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services. "There is a fair amount of family planning supported by the government and the administration is looking for is a little bit of balance."

States may voluntarily participate in the program if they provide matching funds. The family planning group estimates that more than $500 million in federal and state money has been spent on classes that promote abstinence since 1996.

Snowe spokesman Dave Lackey said that the senator "usually doesn't announce what she will do before she votes," on legislation moving through committee, but later added that she intends to "work for flexibility in the grant program."

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, also is urging leaders of the Senate Finance Committee to support a measure that would give states greater flexibility in the way they spend abstinence education funds.