States don't often turn down funds the federal government willingly hands out, but when the money comes with unreasonable restrictions, as with abstinence-only sex education programs, some find the backbone to say “;no thanks.”;

Unfortunately, Hawaii isn't one of them. And despite a Health Department official's claim that a program funded through the state's allocation is “;comprehensive,”; excluding information about birth control and how to avoid sexually transmitted diseases contradicts that description.

Until Congress eliminates the limitation, the Lingle administration should rethink its advocacy of the programs, which haven't reduced sexual activity among teenagers or curbed teen pregnancy rates in Hawaii.

Teenagers should receive a full measure of education on sexual issues, but if it's driven by ideology rather than sensible public health strategy, the abstinence-only program can do more harm than good.

While it might be hard to imagine that young people aren't aware of contraception or the risks of diseases, a rational education program that covers a range of issues - including the merits of celibacy - would be far more beneficial than merely preaching abstinence.

States such as Connecticut, New York, Virginia and Rhode Island have seen the wisdom of doing without federal funds in lieu of presenting a thorough education. According to a story by the Star-Bulletin's Helen Altonn, they are among nearly half the states that have declined the funding.

Hawaii, however, has continued to receive and distribute the money even though a study mandated by Congress reported last year that youths who received abstinence instruction in four programs were just as likely to have sex in ensuing years as those who did not.

Meanwhile, a 2007 study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more than 36 percent of high school students in the islands had had sexual intercourse. Of the nearly 24 percent who were sexually active, a little less than half did not use condoms the last time they had intercourse.

Program supporters argue that teenage pregnancy rates have declined in recent years nationwide, but Hawaii's rate is the 22nd highest among states. Researchers attribute 86 percent of the nationwide decline to higher and more effective use of contraceptives and only 14 percent to abstinence.

Funding began as a demand from congressional Republicans as part of a welfare overhaul measure in the late 1990s and expanded by the Bush administration to include grants to community- and faith-based organizations for programs, including some in Hawaii public schools.

Last year, Congress failed to jettison the program or at least remove the restrictions. With a new legislative majority and administration, lawmakers should succeed in improving the programs.