Judge rules abstinence program unconstitutional

WASHINGTON — The state of Louisiana violated the U.S. Constitution by promoting religion in its funding of sexual abstinence programs, a federal judge decided July 25.

Thomas Porteous, a judge in the Eastern District of Louisiana, ruled the Governor’s Program on Abstinence must halt grants to individuals or organizations that communicate religious messages “or otherwise advance religion in any way in the course of any event supported in whole or in part” by the program, The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported. Ruling from New Orleans, Porteous cited several grants that constituted government establishment of religion, according to The Times-Picayune, including:

• A contract with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette, which said it had used abstinence funding for pro-life marches and prayer at abortion clinics.
• The “Just Say Whoa” drama group, that performed skits at secondary schools with a character named “Bible Guy.”
• A contract with the Southwest Louisiana Area Health Education Center, which sought funds for Bibles. A spokesman for the abstinence program, however, testified officials told the center it could not use its grant for that reason.

The ACLU filed suit against the program, which was initiated in 1999 with funds set aside under the 1996 welfare reform law, the newspaper reported.

In a written statement, Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster called it “a sad day when such a worthwhile program is attacked by the very people who are supposed to protect the interests of the citizens of Louisiana.”