Middle school in Maine to offer birth control pills, patches to pupils

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PORTLAND, Maine - Pupils at a city middle school will be able to get birth control pills and patches at their student health centre after the local school board approved the proposal Wednesday evening.

The plan, offered by city health officials, makes King Middle School the first middle school in Maine to make a full range of contraception available to students in grades 6 through 8, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.

There are no national figures on how many middle schools, where most students range in age from 11 to 13, provide such services.

"It's very rare that middle schools do this," said Divya Mohan, a spokeswoman for the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care.

The Portland School Committee voted 5-2 for the measure.

Chairman John Coynie voted against it, saying he felt providing the birth control was a parental responsibility. The other no vote came from Ben Meiklejohn, who said the consent form does not clearly define the services being offered.

Opponents cited religious and health objections.

Diane Miller said she felt the plan was against religion and against God. Another opponent, Peter Doyle, said he felt it violated the rights of parents and puts students at risk of cancer because of hormones in the pill.

A supporter, Richard Verrier, said it's not enough to depend on parents to protect their children because there may be students who can't discuss things with their parents.

Condoms have been available since 2002 to King students who have parental permission to be treated at its student health centre.

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When I was in school about the only good school "health care" was for was a bandaid, an excuse to skip a class or a pan to puke in. What on earth (or in the constitution) gives public schools the right to prescribe drugs for our children without parental consent? If you ask me, public schools as a whole can't do much of anything right any more, how can they be trusted with the "health" of our children?

Go ahead, justify this egregious breach of parental rights...

First of all, I didn't know that it was the government's job to provide birth-control to anyone, much less pre-pubescent minors.

Second of all, I didn't realize that my rights and obligations as a parent to take care of my kids were being abrogated by the government. Being an EMT, and having a brother who's an MD (a pediatrician, no less) and a sister who's a biology teacher, I of course know absolutely nothing about health care or the particular needs of my children. The school nurse knows better than I do, of course.

And finally, I wonder whether these schools are going to also offer pamphlets about abstinence to these same 6-8th graders to try to solve the problem of underage sex by stopping kids from having sex.

Actually, no I don't. I already know the answer.

Elliot

Steve ;

If it's for the children how can you oppose it ? :D

I thought there were all types of release forms parents need to sign to have someone dispense medications to children.

Bad parenting is notorious in the largest cities.

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Originally Posted by tomder55

Steve ;

if it's for the children how can you oppose it ? :D

I thought there were all types of release forms parents need to sign to have someone dispense medications to children.

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On further review, the article does mention a "consent form" which apparently "does not clearly define the services being offered." It doesn't matter to me, schools have no business providing that type of "health care" to our children. Do you think "School-Based Health Care" might become the next S-Chip?

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Originally Posted by ETWolverine

First of all, I didn't know that it was the government's job to provide birth-control to anyone, much less pre-pubescent minors.

Second of all, I didn't realize that my rights and obligations as a parent to take care of my kids were being abrogated by the government. Being an EMT, and having a brother who's an MD (a pediatrician, no less) and a sister who's a biology teacher, I of course know absolutely nothing about health care or the particular needs of my children. The school nurse knows better than I do, of course.

And finally, I wonder whether these schools are going to also offer pamphlets about abstinence to these same 6-8th graders to try to solve the problem of underage sex by stopping kids from having sex.

Actually, no I don't. I already know the answer.

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Yeah, you know the answer. It seems schools are becoming an arm of Planned Parenthood - one of the vilest groups on the face of the earth in my opinion - which also frames its services as "health care" and not only encourages teen sex but educates them on everything from anal sex to "rimming."

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Originally Posted by Dark_crow

Bad parenting is notorious in the largest cities.

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With all due respect DC, that sounds like a copout to me.

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Originally Posted by Dark_crow

Bad parenting is notorious in the largest cities.

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So what? What makes it the job of the government to take the place of parents... even bad parents?

Furthermore, do think that encouraging underage sex by handing out condoms and birth control pill is the "responsible" thing for a surrogate parent to do?

If you found out that a parent of one of your 14-year-old daughter's friends was giving her daughter condoms and birth control pills and letting her have sex with young boys (or worse, older boys), would you let your daughter hang out with that girl? Would you approve of that form of parenting?

If you would not approve of that form of parenting from a real parent, why would you accept it from a non-parental entity like a school?

Elliot

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And finally, I wonder whether these schools are going to also offer pamphlets about abstinence to these same 6-8th graders to try to solve the problem of underage sex by stopping kids from having sex.

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Or telling the horny little boys that the age of consent in the State of Maine is 16 and having sex before that is a crime.

Are they going to dispense or adminster the drugs to the girls ? I know that some kids have been known to abuse perscription medicines before . Taking improper doses of prescribed ADHD medicines is a recreation in some circles.

I just find this hard to believe . There were so many times when my daughter was in school I had to sign waivers for one activity or another. If I were in this district my daughter would be signing into a private school today.

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Originally Posted by ETWolverine

So what? What makes it the job of the government to take the place of parents... even bad parents?

Furthermore, do think that encouraging underage sex by handing out condoms and birth control pill is the "responsible" thing for a surrogate parent to do?

If you found out that a parent of one of your 14-year-old daughter's friends was giving her daughter condoms and birth control pills and letting her have sex with young boys (or worse, older boys), would you let your daughter hang out with that girl? Would you approve of that form of parenting?

If you would not approve of that form of parenting from a real parent, why would you accept it from a non-parental entity like a school?

Elliot

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The assumption being made in all of this is that there is a better alternative to cutting down on teen pregnancy; these idealistic notions about some morality or parental rights is filling up abortion clinics and then the same morality policeman rails against the teen when they want and need an abortion. Give us a break, your way has failed.

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Originally Posted by Dark_crow

The assumption being made in all of this is that there is a better alternative to cutting down on teen pregnancy; these idealistic notions about some morality or parental rights is filling up abortion clinics and then the same morality policeman rails against the teen when they want and need an abortion. Give us a break, your way has failed.

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Over the past 20 years, there has been a marked decrease in the amount of teen smoking taking place. This is because the anti-smoking activists have been pushing an ad campaign to teach kids that smoking is bad for them. And the government has been helping by making and enforcing laws that prevent sale and targeted advertisement of cigarrettes to minors. Clearly ad campaigns work in influencing kids. Of that there seems to be no reasonable agument.

A similar, but more recent campaign regarding drugs has also been showing increased results, resulting in lower teen and pre-teen hard drug use and somewhat lower but still improved numbers for teen and pre-teen marajuana use.

So to all those who say that the "idealism" of a pro-abstinence campaign will fail, I give you the war in teen smoking and teen drugs. If it works there, it can just as easily work here. The problem is that unlike with smoking, there is a group of people who are actively work to keep such a campaign from taking place "because it could never work".

I hate to tell you this, DC, but it isn't the old-fashioned morals that have failed our kids and brought them to the abortion clinics. It's the decline of any moral standards, along with the sexualization of media and general permisiveness of society, that have brought us here. If parents, schools and not-for-profit organizations worked together to campaign for teen abstinence, I can almost guarantee that within 10 years we'll see a significant change in teen pregnancy and teen abortion rates. That is, if people were WILLING to work as hard to stop teen sex as they are to stop teen smoking and drug use. Clearly they are not.

But the point is that there is a clear precedent to show that such campaigns targeted to teens are indeed effective, and do change the behavior patterns of kids for the better. It isn't idealistic or foolish to think that it can.

Elliot

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Originally Posted by Dark_crow

The assumption being made in all of this is that there is a better alternative to cutting down on teen pregnancy; these idealistic notions about some morality or parental rights is filling up abortion clinics and then the same morality policeman rails against the teen when they want and need an abortion. Give us a break, your way has failed.

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As I see it, the whole crux of the matter is public school, aka the government, funded by taxpayors, overstepping their duties and encroaching on those of the parent[s].

School is suppose to teach reading, writing, math etc...

maybe when they get 100% of students to be proficient at their respective grade level they can go on to other important subjects like science and history.

Sex education and providing birth control is way beyond this.



They have outlawed a moment of silence for the option of prayer , but want to promote birth control. Whose values are being instilled and forced upon the young?

What if schools promoted just abstinence till marriage? Would you, the ACLU, secular humanists be outraged.



Yet, all emotions aside, what works 100% in preventing pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases.

It does not take a mental giant to realize if you don't have sex [ oral, genital, anal ] you won't get stds.

What works 100% of the time in preventing pregnancy - yes that is right - don't have sex.

So why are these "educators" promoting, providing the worse alternative?
Condoms may be 90-95% effective IF they are used every time. They are never 100%.

Which would you take a 100% chance at winning one million dllars or the 90-95% chance?

One may argue that "they're going to have sex" anyway, why not make it "safe."
The question is why promote the basest instincts.
Oh they are going to fight so why not make it "safer" by having a referee and boxing gloves?


As I see it,
What fills up abortion clinics is the LACK OF traditional Judeo-Christian values.
It is those same values, that acknowledges that humans are not perfect, and that love and forgiveness of those who have had abortions is the ideal.






Grace and Peace

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Originally Posted by ETWolverine

Over the past 20 years, there has been a marked decrease in the amount of teen smoking taking place. This is because the anti-smoking activists have been pushing an ad campaign to teach kids that smoking is bad for them. And the government has been helping by making and enforcing laws that prevent sale and targetted advertisement of cigarrettes to minors. Clearly ad campaigns work in influencing kids. Of that there seems to be no reasonable agument.

A similar, but more recent campaign regarding drugs has also been showing increased results, resulting in lower teen and pre-teen hard drug use and somewhat lower but still improved numbers for teen and pre-teen marajuana use.

So to all those who say that the "idealism" of a pro-abstinence campaign will fail, I give you the war in teen smoking and teen drugs. If it works there, it can just as easily work here. The problem is that unlike with smoking, there is a group of people who are actively work to keep such a campaign from taking place "because it could never work".

I hate to tell you this, DC, but it isn't the old-fashioned morals that have failed our kids and brought them to the abortion clinics. It's the decline of any moral standards, along with the sexualization of media and general permisiveness of society, that have brought us here. If parents, schools and not-for-profit organizations worked together to campaign for teen abstinence, I can almost guarantee that within 10 years we'll see a significant change in teen pregnancy and teen abortion rates. That is, if people were WILLING to work as hard to stop teen sex as they are to stop teen smoking and drug use. Clearly they are not.

But the point is that there is a clear precedent to show that such campaigns targetted to teens are indeed effective, and do change the behavior patterns of kids for the better. It isn't idealistic or foolish to think that it can.

Elliot

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In come the red herrings…smoking and drugs are neither biological needs. Sex is a biological need. Humans, like all creatures, have urges which lead to reproduction. Our biological urge is to have sex, not to make babies. Culturally-induced desires can be so strong that they seem to be biological, but that don’t make them biological.

They should teach abstinence in schools but that shouldn't be the only thing they teach. How many time have we all seen the "Am I pregnant?" thread? Any girl old enough to have sex should know at least everything I know which isn't that much but I can answer 90% of those threads. They should learn about stds and pregnancy and prevention of both. I think if you try to teach only abstinence, teens will know there is more information out there and may not get it from a reliable source.

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Originally Posted by Dark_crow

The assumption being made in all of this is that there is a better alternative to cutting down on teen pregnancy; these idealistic notions about some morality or parental rights is filling up abortion clinics and then the same morality policeman rails against the teen when they want and need an abortion. Give us a break, your way has failed.

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That's where you're wrong DC. The gradual erosion of parental rights, the "childrens rights" movement, the "all sex is all good all the time they're going to do it anyway and if you get pregnant there's always abortion" and the "we can't punish little Johnny or damage his self-esteem" attitudes are exactly what has failed.

Parents in this country are automatically treated with suspicion. All a kid has to do (and virtually all of them all know this) any time he or she doesn't like their parents' rules is claim abuse of some sort and the parent goes through hell. Protective Services has the authority to remove a child basically for any reason at any time, and God forbid your child should fall and bump her head and you're responsible enough to take her to a pediatrician.

Planned Parenthood has arrogantly and condescendingly spouted the "your way has failed" and "Planned Parenthood would like to see an end to abortion" lines for longer than I care to remember. And yet, the 519,958 abortion procedures they report for 2005-2006 is a 9.4 percent increase over the 2002-2003 numbers, which were a 6.1 percent increase from the previous period. They have more access and more influence with more people than ever and yet abortions are on the rise.

When kids are hammered 24/7 with sex on TV, in movies, books, magazines, music, and groups such as Planned Parenthood undermine parental authority and encourage kids to explore their sexuality while arming them with the tools to make them feel bulletproof, just what do you think is going to happen? Fewer teen pregnancies? Only a fool would believe that.

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Originally Posted by inthebox

As I see it, the whole crux of the matter is public school, aka the government, funded by taxpayors, overstepping their duties and encroaching on those of the parent[s].

School is suppose to teach reading, writing, math etc....

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I see your point, but being a public school teacher myself, I have to take issue at this point.

Countless times, we've talked to parents of the children we teach. We discuss grades, behavior, and other issues. You know what we get over half the time? "They're YOUR problem, not mine. You see them more than I do." Verbatim. Word for word.

I may not like it when this sort of responsibility is thrust upon me. In fact, I don't like it a bit. I agree with you: I should be devoting 100% of my time to learnin' 'em more gooder English skils and speling.

But regardless of whether we like or agree with some of the responsibilities being pushed off on us, the fact is they're still being pushed off on us. It's obvious the parents aren't going to do it in many cases.

That leaves us with two choices:

1. Say "Oh, well" and forget about it, leaving these kids to their own devices and allowing them to grow up unhindered by any sort of inconveniences such as social skills, manners, respect for oneself and others, or life skills.

2. Shoulder the additional burden and try our best to do our part to turn at least some of them into responsible adults.

It's obvious in so many cases: We are the only positive people many of these kids have. That obligates us morally to do our best to ensure they grow up reasonably healthy.

Just my two cents worth.

As far as the original issue itself, I DO see this as the schools overstepping their bounds and assuming a role that has NOT yet been assigned to them.

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Originally Posted by Dark_crow

In come the red herrings…smoking and drugs are neither biological needs. Sex is a biological need. Humans, like all creatures, have urges which lead to reproduction. Our biological urge is to have sex, not to make babies. Culturally-induced desires can be so strong that they seem to be biological, but that don’t make them biological.

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So people can't learn or be taught how to control their urges? You're digging yourself a hole here DC.

Schools providing prescription drugs, in my opinion, is overstepping the boundaries of wise decision making. When a woman is on the pill (or patch) it is important she fully understands how to properly take it, what risks are associated with taking it, and so on. I find it hard to believe a school nurse is educating every girl properly about the medication. Beyond that, doesn't middle school seem a little young for all this, or am I that old (I'm not old!)?

Regarding abstinence education it is a problem when it is "abstinence only" education and children are told that having sex before marriage makes your willy fall off and other lies. I know many of you hate the Washington Post, but here's an article which mentions some of the lies being told:

Some Abstinence Programs Mislead Teens, Report Says (washingtonpost.com)

Teaching that refraining from sex is the ONLY method that gives you 100% protection from pregnancy and std's is OK with me. But it is important to still tell the kids who think "it won't happen to me" or the ones who don't care that there are ways of protecting yourself and the person you are with. Teaching that sex is this dirty, horrible thing isn't good for anyone. I don't think handing out condoms is telling kids to have sex, or even pushing them toward doing it. Teens are going to do it, so we might as well educate them with factual information and provide them with tools to prevent unwanted pregnancies and infections. I'm sure some of you think the HPV shot is like giving your daughter a free pass to have sex too, but I think that's another thread! :)

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Originally Posted by kindj

It's obvious in so many cases: We are the only positive people many of these kids have. That obligates us morally to do our best to ensure they grow up reasonably healthy.

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That's a good two cents I can't argue with, and I'm thankful for teachers such as yourself. I just have no faith in school administrations that make decisions such as this one and little faith in our colleges and universities graduating teachers that haven't been under years of the type of indoctrination that leads to these policies. As I see it, the kind of parents you're talking about are a product of this society, not a failure of traditional values as DC would have us believe.

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Originally Posted by speechlesstx

That's where you're wrong DC. The gradual erosion of parental rights, the "childrens rights" movement, the "all sex is all good all the time they're going to do it anyway and if you get pregnant there's always abortion" and the "we can't punish little Johnny or damage his self-esteem" attitudes are exactly what has failed.

Parents in this country are automatically treated with suspicion. All a kid has to do (and virtually all of them all know this) any time he or she doesn't like their parents' rules is claim abuse of some sort and the parent goes through hell. Protective Services has the authority to remove a child basically for any reason at any time, and God forbid your child should fall and bump her head and you're responsible enough to take her to a pediatrician.

Planned Parenthood has arrogantly and condescendingly spouted the "your way has failed" and "Planned Parenthood would like to see an end to abortion" lines for longer than I care to remember. And yet, the 519,958 abortion procedures they report for 2005-2006 is a 9.4 percent increase over the 2002-2003 numbers, which were a 6.1 percent increase from the previous period. They have more access and more influence with more people than ever and yet abortions are on the rise.

When kids are hammered 24/7 with sex on TV, in movies, books, magazines, music, and groups such as Planned Parenthood undermine parental authority and encourage kids to explore their sexuality while arming them with the tools to make them feel bulletproof, just what do you think is going to happen? Fewer teen pregnancies? Only a fool would believe that.

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That’s a strawman…"all sex is all good all the time they're going to do it anyway,” that I have never heard anyone advocate.

I grant that parental rights have eroded from Biblical times, and when I first heard a parent could not physically punish a child I was thankful mine were adults. But the fact is children are abused by their parents in so many homes across the nation and it became an epidemic of gigantic proportions. Of course abortion is increasing, just as the population is increasing; that’s the whole purpose for teaching safe sex.

Guess what, teens were getting knocked-up before there was TV or Planned Parenthood.