Ok, now I agree that contraception should be readily available at all levels, and for an attempt at that I applaud this school board. However, I think in the case of middle schoolers such efforts should be left at providing them freely and confidentially with condoms. The birth control pill, from what I understand of it, is too risky to take for a young girl just barely beginning puberty. Condoms have been given out at this school for something like 7 years, and I think that that is a good policy that should remain in place; but providing middle school girls wth drugs reaches a whole new level. Many at that age have issues remembering their class schedule and to do their homework, how could they be expected to be able to responsibly take this drug as instructed? It working, I believe, with this age seems highly unlikely.
I think there are some issues with the consent form. I do believe a seperate area should be provided for parents to sign off on their daughter receiving a pill. I feel as if the pill could cause health issues at that age; the parents should be aware of these and be able to tell if such a health issue is occuring.
Now, before some of you cry "hypocrite" based on posts or comments I have made regarding my stance on abortion parental consent laws, You should be aware that it is true I believe those laws should not be there, and that a woman of any age should be able to receive an abortion. However, I do believe in parental notifcation or discussion laws for minors who go in to receive an abortion. Parents should realize they need to look for signs of complications that their daughter may not recognize, dependent on their age. A woman, no matter what her age, should be able to receive an abortion, but parents do have every right to know what medical procedure their child is undergoing. However in the case of abortion, I don't believe the parents refusing to consent to it should stop someone's ability t receive it. But I digress.
I think the school is right to offer contraception, however in terms of the pill I think more explicit notfication of what the parents are consenting to should be given. As it stands, I think the consent form is too general. Parents need to sign a form explicitly giving schools permission to hand out Tylenol, the same should go for the pill, espescially at this age where they are still developing and it may pose a risk to their health.
P.S.
Just an added element I though interesting was this: How is it a middle school in Maine is able and willing to provide birth control and condoms to its students, but very few high schools have a similar policy. The article inparticular mentions a school in Kansas where the schoolboard revoked a plan in which highschoolers were ale to receive conraception. How is it middleschoolers became more responsible?
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Very interesting. I came from a school that didn't even teach sex ed, so my idea's may be a little off. I do agree that parents should know if their kid is taking Birth control, because in my case it makes me very depressed and suicidal. But I think that condoms are good because even in 7th grade there were kidsgetting pregnant.
Thanks for keeping us informed.
"I am a Stephens Woman."
I think that we need to actually provide these contraceptives to CHILDREN who are barely hitting puberty is outragous. What is going on, I dont know. But what I do know is that every parent should give consent before any child receives birth control. That is something that can potentially harm a child and very serious. They should get check-ups before handing that stuff out too. We need to be more careful about what is going into these kids bodies.
people of all ages are having sex, and always have. Heck, in medieval england many of the females would already be settling down with a husband and family.
However, I do think condoms should be available to anyone who is hitting the point where they could become sexually active. For us, that begins in middle school. I doubt the problem is with 5th or 6th graders granted, a 6th grader did get pregnant one year at my school). I think it is more likely the 7th and 8th graders. Both those years in middle school a girl in my grade got pregnant (a different girl each year). The reality is that middle schoolers do have sex, and therefore contraception, at least in the form of condoms, should be available.
-Dan
I think it is a good idea!!
Closing your eyes and hoping that students will do the right thing or even that the parents of the students are stepping up to the plate is a crap shoot.
Is everyone forgetting that the parents are being included in the desicions? If a parent gives consent, which is necessary/mandatory, what is the harm in making things available?
I would rather have this type of service available at the school, than see a 12-14 year old pregnant, a carrier of a sexually transmitted disease or dead from AIDS, HIV or complications for any of those.
I support the idea of making birth control & condoms available - we can't control people having sex so we should at least try to protect them.
I'm not sure why they are making this initiative in middle schools though? I guess to start preaching "protective sex" early thus prevent pregnancy, etc. I don't know, It would have made sense to start this in high school where the students are more developed as far as puberty & are usually more mature. I would wait until the concept was proven effective to funnel the it down to middle school students.
Well middle school pregnancies do happen, as I said in my last comment. In 7th grade (!) a girl in my class dropped out of school because of her pregnancy and to raise her child. Without even a full middle school education she is currently raising a child. She came to visit my high school last year, and was happy as could be, but it still makes me wonder how things would have turned out for her had she not gotten pregnant and had the child, and the fact that it happened so early is certainly a testament to what can and does happen, even if it is rare.
-Dan
It's true there are some potential drawbacks to taking birth control pills, at any age. I'd weigh that against being pregnant and being in Junior High, though - whew....
I'm 48, and was in Jr. High in the early 1970s. I figure there were some kids having sex, but none I knew of, and nobody got pregnant. Viewed in a vacuum, I think those kids are just too young to have sex. I think it's better to wait, and I'm usually extremely liberal about rights and social stuff.
Yet the reality is that now sex is occuring then, and Dan, I'm glad that girl is happy, but not finishing High School is obviously something to be avoided, let alone Middle School. I hope she stays happy but I really feel sorry for her. For most, I'd say the option of BC is a good thing, a very good thing.
Doug