Away from abstinence.

As the Bush administration continues to push an abstinence-only sex education agenda that largely isolates gays, 40,000 new cases of HIV infection are reported annually in the United States, with an increasing number occurring among men who have sex with men. To counter what they describe as Bush's failed policy, former U.S. surgeons general David Satcher and Jocelyn Elders announced on November 2 the creation of a new Center of Excellence for Sexual Health at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. Satcher will be head of the center.

"There is no evidence abstinence-only programs work," Satcher told The Advocate. "[But] there is evidence to support that when parents don't affirm the sexual orientation of their children, they end up feeling like they're not appreciated or made to feel that something is wrong with them, and that increases the risk of their engaging in risky sexual behaviors."