The federal government spent more than $27 million on a nonprofit that texts sexually explicit health advice to children, tells them how to use sex toys and tests them for HIV without notifying or seeking permission from parents.
The Center for Innovative Public Health Research said researchers obtained “waivers” from a review board under the oversight of the Health and Human Services Department to secretly enroll children in government-funded studies of teenage sexual behavior.
Researchers at the center, administering a program on teen pregnancy called “Girls2Girls,” explained they did not want parents to know about their children’s involvement.
“We were granted a waiver of parental permission so that girls who wished to participate would not have to put themselves in a potentially unsafe situation by disclosing their sexual identity to their parents,” Center Director Michele L. Ybarra wrote in a report about the program.
