Not for the topics presented, but increasingly more controversial is the follow-up to the CDC’s National STD Prevention Conference. It’s yet another blatant illustration of how some on the right favor ideology over scientific data.

In an attempt to get to the bottom of last-minute conference changes, Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) demanded an explanation from the Administration today. He states, “In effect, it appears presentations at a public health conference were censored because they criticized abstinence-only education. This attempt at thought control should have no place in our government.”

The revised workshop was held today despite lacking the approval, including approval of scientific data, required of other conference presentations. “This is the first time I've seen the process of peer review subverted by pure politics," said SIECUS’ William Smith, one of the original panelists.

Justifying the changes and choosing to ignore the scientific data surrounding abstinence-only programs, Tom Coburn’s spokesperson added his two-cents to the matter, "I'm not suggesting that their views shouldn't be debated … but should federally funded tax dollars be used to do that?" The CDC panel of experts seemed to think so.

It seems rather contradictory, too, that he and his boss see no problem wasting millions of our dollars on promoting unproven, generally medically-inaccurate, abstinence-only programs. For all the talk from conservatives about the dangers of big government and overspending, wasting this kind of money on questionable programs seems far out of character.