Health Website Faces Scrutiny
A Senate committee that controls the purse strings of the Health and Human Services Department has ordered the agency to correct any inaccurate information on a government website intended to help parents counsel their teenagers about risky health behaviors.
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) added the directive to a $146-billion funding bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday. The website, 4parents.gov, was set up this year. An advocacy group chosen by the Health and Human Services Department to help create the site said it was intended to assist parents in encouraging their teenagers to abstain from premarital sex.
But four independent experts consulted by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) reviewed the website and cataloged what they said were errors and omissions regarding condom use, gay teens and other issues.
The Senate bill ordered a review by government health and science experts. It also directed the federal agency to include more information on the website about the risks of alcohol and tobacco.
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