Texas Lawmakers Move Millions from HIV Programs to Abstinence Education

The Texas House approved a budget on Wednesday. One measure, concerning how $3 million of the money is spent, is igniting debate across the state.

By Rhonda FanningApril 2, 2015 8:34 am

Texas House members may be finally recovered today from a marathon 18-hour debate on the budget that stretched into the pre-dawn hours Wednesday morning. But reverberations from the debate are still echoing across the state.

One of the measures in the House version of the budget that is drawing a good deal of attention is a proposal to take $3 million dollars out programs aimed at preventing HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, and instead, spend the money on abstinence education. The amendment was sponsored by State Representative Stuart Spitzer, a Republican from Kaufman.

Phillip Schnarrs, Assistant Professor of Health Promotion at The University of Texas at San Antonio joins the Standard on Thursday to discuss the measure.