Middle school birth control.....

[pstone]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21358971/

Maine middle school to offer birth control
School board approves pills and patches for students ages 11 to 13

Updated: 6:43 a.m. CT Oct 18, 2007
PORTLAND, Maine - Pupils at a city middle school will be able to get birth control pills and patches at their student health center 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 7-2 for the measure.

Chairman John Coyne 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.

Parental permission required
Condoms have been available since 2000 to King students who have parental permission to be treated at its student health center.

About one-fourth of student health centers that serve at least one grade of adolescents 11 and older dispense some form of contraception, said Mohan, whose Washington-based organization represents more than 1,700 school-based centers nationwide.

At King Middle School, birth control prescriptions will be given after a student undergoes a physical exam by a physician or nurse practitioner, said Lisa Belanger, who oversees Portland’s student health centers.

Students treated at the centers must first get written parental permission, but under state law such treatment is confidential, and students decide for themselves whether to tell their parents about the services they receive.

Five of the 134 students who visited King’s health center during the 2006-07 school year reported having sexual intercourse, said Amanda Rowe, lead nurse in Portland’s school health centers.

A high school in Topeka, Kan., stopped providing free condoms to students Wednesday after district officials learned of the month-old program. The district has a policy against providing contraceptives.
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[SwampHunter]

Bad idea! Anything that has a health risk such as the pill or patch should not be given to anyone under the age of 18. I don't think it should be for the school board to decide.

I do feel that something should be done and kids should be taught about sex. Most kids today can't or don't get to talk to their parents. Kids are going to have relations. I know we did when we were that age and we didn't have anyone we could talk to other than other kids. If we would have tried to talk to our parents it was taboo. In fact anything that they didn't agree with they shut it out and we weren't allowed to talk about it. Most adults can't even talk about things that they don't agree with in an adult fashion and without anger. I actually think it's a good idea that kids do get to learn about sex and they should have access to certain types of contraceptives.

Education is the key to learning.

[Cane Pole]

We had birth control when I was a kid. Called shotgun!

This ain't my world. I am obsolete.

[pstone]

I think it is encouraging pre-teens to have sex. Don't know how many girls in high school wouldn't for fear of getting pregnant...take that fear away, and what do you have?

Bad deal all around in my opinion!

[crappie cowboy]

Can a 11 year old boy make a baby?, I don't think so. So it has to be older boy's getting littles girls pregnant.
This is bad, 11 year old girls should be playing jump rope and playing with dolls,and not taking birth control.
This kind of stuff chaps my ***.
Just another sure sign of the comimg of the Lord, is what I think.

srm

[fishingpox]

Well, this is what I did, though we send our daughter to a Christian school. Yeah I know, they have sexual urges too. I let it be known quick that any school official give my daughter anything or hide anything from me concerning my daughter of the sexual nature,the law would not be able to protect them from the a$$ whipping they would recieve. Be it male or female whipping is coming. Well my daughter is not on the pill or having sex to my knowledge nor pregnant. I think my threat served it's purpose...though after that first PTA meeting, I'm not very well liked...my feelings aren't hurt and I have lost no sleep....:D

[Fisher-o-Men]

This is just a sad, sad commentary on our times. We now live in a society where the culture fully expects these children to be sexually active, so the "responsible thing" to do is give them birth control...that's insane! The responsible thing would be to teach them about the sanctity of marriage and live our lives as Godly examples for them to follow....but that's too hard I guess so we pass out condoms and pat ourselves on the back. Where will this all end?

[SwampHunter]

Back when I was a very young kid I got my first firearm and I was taught how to shoot it. I was also told that it was only to be used for hunting and that I was never supposed to point it at anyone else. I was taught why I was never supposed to point it at anyone else. The firearms we had weren't shrouded in mystery so I was not curious about firearms. Later on in life I was trained how to use a firearm(actually several firearms) as weapons to kill and stop threats.
Just because someone teaches about something at an early age and gives you the means to use something, doesn't mean it encourages it. Everyone knows..... let me rephrase that..... The people that have been educated in birth control and contraceptives know that neither is 100% effective. They know that a girl can still get pregnant while using birth control and contraceptives. They also know that diseases can still be transmitted through the use of a condom. They know that not having sex is the only way that you can't get pregnant or catch a disease.

Kids have been having sex since kids were able to have sex. We used to play doctor on the neighborhood girls back when we were 8 years old. The girls were anywhere from 7 to 13 years old. Nope, we weren't able to make babies back then but those girls weren't only playing doctor with us younger kids.

Back when I was growing up I looked for girls that weren't allowed to talk about sex with their parents. Most of these were daughters of preachers, police officers, big bad rednecks, etc. Basically any girl that was taught that sex was taboo was a prime target... and the ones that were forbidden to have sex were the ultimate prize. And if I could have relations with her in her house with the old man there it was gold. Bonus if we were in sight of dear old dad. If I was somewhere that I heard some dad gloating about how his precious angel never does anything wrong because the boys were scared of him, I would find out who his daughter was because I knew that she was active.
Fear works for some people. Some people are too scared to do anything but what they are told to do. Then you have another crowd as well that love the sensation of doing things they are told not to do. I know lots of folks that seek out the danger and I was one of them. I used to be a huge adrenalene junkie. Back when I was younger the more excitement the better. I have changed as I have grown up, but that comes with getting older. I did alot of things that seemed like a good choice at the time.
Kids haven't changed today much at all except kids are getting smarter and having to be more self sufficient at a younger age.
Get educated and talk to your kids about sex. If not let someone else that is educated talk to your kid about sex. Who would you rather have talking to your kid about sex... a teacher trained in talking to your kid about sex or a person that wants to show your kid sex?

[fishingpox]

Swamp, you just told us you were and or are a sexual predator...preying upon the weak...what a great life...

Back when I was a very young kid I got my first firearm and I was taught how to shoot it. I was also told that it was only to be used for hunting and that I was never supposed to point it at anyone else. I was taught why I was never supposed to point it at anyone else. The firearms we had weren't shrouded in mystery so I was not curious about firearms. Later on in life I was trained how to use a firearm(actually several firearms) as weapons to kill and stop threats.
Just because someone teaches about something at an early age and gives you the means to use something, doesn't mean it encourages it. Everyone knows..... let me rephrase that..... The people that have been educated in birth control and contraceptives know that neither is 100% effective. They know that a girl can still get pregnant while using birth control and contraceptives. They also know that diseases can still be transmitted through the use of a condom. They know that not having sex is the only way that you can't get pregnant or catch a disease.

Kids have been having sex since kids were able to have sex. We used to play doctor on the neighborhood girls back when we were 8 years old. The girls were anywhere from 7 to 13 years old. Nope, we weren't able to make babies back then but those girls weren't only playing doctor with us younger kids.

Back when I was growing up I looked for girls that weren't allowed to talk about sex with their parents. Most of these were daughters of preachers, police officers, big bad rednecks, etc. Basically any girl that was taught that sex was taboo was a prime target... and the ones that were forbidden to have sex were the ultimate prize. And if I could have relations with her in her house with the old man there it was gold. Bonus if we were in sight of dear old dad. If I was somewhere that I heard some dad gloating about how his precious angel never does anything wrong because the boys were scared of him, I would find out who his daughter was because I knew that she was active.
Fear works for some people. Some people are too scared to do anything but what they are told to do. Then you have another crowd as well that love the sensation of doing things they are told not to do. I know lots of folks that seek out the danger and I was one of them. I used to be a huge adrenalene junkie. Back when I was younger the more excitement the better. I have changed as I have grown up, but that comes with getting older. I did alot of things that seemed like a good choice at the time.
Kids haven't changed today much at all except kids are getting smarter and having to be more self sufficient at a younger age.
Get educated and talk to your kids about sex. If not let someone else that is educated talk to your kid about sex. Who would you rather have talking to your kid about sex... a teacher trained in talking to your kid about sex or a person that wants to show your kid sex?

[SwampHunter]

Swamp, you just told us you were and or are a sexual predator...preying upon the weak...what a great life...

Nope, they are not weak if they were ready, willing and able. That would be called consentual sex. Nice try though. Better luck next time.