A middle school in Maine will become one of few in the nation to make contraceptives, including birth-control pills, available to students as young as 11.
After an outbreak of pregnancies among middle school girls, education officials in Portland decided in a rare move to allow a health center at King Middle School to offer a full range of contraception.
Parents were appalled they were even debating the issue at all.
"We're not educating our kids," said one parent during a school committee meeting Wednesday in Portland, according to CNN. "We're actually avoiding our responsibility. And that's sad."
Portland's school nurse coordinator, Amanda Rowe, defended the new policy saying that although they sit down with students and advise them intercourse is not a good choice, some are going to do it anyway.
"[T]here are some who persist – even though we don't like to think about that – in being sexually active, and they need to be protected," said Rowe.
Five of 134 students who visited King Middle School's health center last year reported being sexually active. There were seven pregnancies reported in the last five years at Portland's three middle schools, said Douglas Gardner, director of Portland's Health and Human Services Department, according to The Associated Press.
Although a full range of contraception will be made available at the health center – where condoms have been available since 2000 – the birth control will be given out only after extensive counseling, and no prepubescent children will get it, according to Portland School Committee member Robert O'Brien.
Furthermore, the committee approved on Wednesday a plan in which students are required to get parental permission to access the school's health center, although treatment is confidential under Maine state law.
Expressing concern that kids would have access to any form of birth control with the support of parents, Michael Heath, executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine, said, "It's at best troubling, at worst an outrage," according to AP.
Parents, meanwhile, are concerned that teaching kids to delay sex and then supporting contraception distribution in middle school sends a mixed message.
Patty Devine, who oversees women’s health services clinics for the Erie County Health Department, however, said studies have shown that knowledge about sexual activity and contraception does not lead to increased sexual activity.
"The higher the [sex] education level, the more likely they are to delay sexual activity,” she said.
And according to studies, most kids want to learn about both contraception and abstinence.
A 2005 Pew Forum study found that 78 percent of kids want public schools to teach about birth control and 76 percent think schools should teach kids to abstain from sex until marriage.
At the same time, a recent study by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy showed that 76 percent of teens think religious leaders should do more to educate them about the risks of teenage sex and nearly half (47 percent) say parents influence their decisions about sex more than friends, religious leaders, siblings, teachers, media and sex educators.
RSS
lol the problems with children dealing with sex younger has nothing to do with Atheism. especially considering that less than 10 percent of the country professes to no belief in God. Also, notice that this isn't just afflicting 'atheist' children, it's afflicting Christian children too. I would place the blame of this on our media culture. Simply because kids see these things on tv, on movies, or hear about it in music, they will find out what it means. That they know adults do these things, they want to imitate adults ( it's like a perverse way of dressing in your mother's clothes). If you want to change this, you have to not only clean up the pop culture kids deal with everyday, which means making sure young kids don't listen or watch that stuff,(notice i said young kids, older kids have to grow up and learn this stuff sometime or their maturity will be stunted), and parents HAVE to talk to their kids about this stuff. That I think, is the main problem. We don't stress to our kids the consequences of irresponsible sex, of it being an 'adult' thing, of it being a natural thing but not something their age is meant for. Parents are too terrified to even say the word sex, much less sit down and talk to them about it. You can't censor it from them, they will find out about it no matter what. The best you can do is set a good example, and teach them good morals and responsible behavior at an early age
RBB, just an aside - I couldn't answer your post on the other article because I was out yesterday and the comments have now been turned off. Just wanted to let you know I wasn't ignoring you. :)
"Isn't it amazing how little of this went on before the atheists took over the schools, courts, government and media."
RBB, this actually began happening much earlier. There was a wonderful article in American History magazine years ago that outlined when the age of childhood started to become skewed. The casting of the obviously-grown-up Judy Garland as a very young girl in the "Wizard of Oz" was a main catalyst in seeing both young adults as not quite grown-ups anymore, and treating pre-teens as more mature than they really are. It has nothing to do with atheism, etc - it's a cultural phenomenon of the early-mid 20th century.
The BIble being in school or not has nothing to do with it, John5796. There were plenty of young girls who "visited relatives" for 9 months in the early 20th century; it's nothing new.
RBB, I agree entirely with your statement that this is pretty much aiding/abetting a felony, especially if the parents have no say in the matter.
"So goes Maine, so goes the nation". If you feel just because you aren't one of a million people in Maine, you can't do anything, you're wrong. You can sign onto the League's petition, just ask Mike Hein, the League's administrator how.
It's a felony to have sex with a child that young, even if the person is also a child, as well it should be. So how isn't it aiding and abetting a crime to give out something that would help them commit the crime?
The idea that children are going to do this anyway so let's help them is just silly. Isn't it amazing how little of this went on before the atheists took over the schools, courts, government and media. Kids actually acted like kids and had a childhood. First they egg them into doing it, then they say the kids are going to do it anyway so lets help them.
it is a sad indictment on the morals of our society and the lack of responsibility our society is pushing. free sex. drugs. abortion.
What we need to do is clean out the media and education instutions of all immoral people. It will never happen, but that's wwhy I thin our society has not long to live. We are slowly killing oruselves. Historically speaking, as our morals decline, so does our society. Eventually, it will be destroyed and another will ris in its place. I really hope Christ returns before then.
Citizen: Yes, I concede that young children have become pregnant going back to who knows when. My point is that there has been an explosion of it in recent years, along with a lot of other things that can be tied to the fact that biblical teaching and moral right and wrongs are no longer taught in the schools. Pregnancy, drugs, violence, are all commonplace in schools now and in numbers unheard of 50 years ago. Do you not agree that the numbers are staggering in recent years since our schools have 'changed'? I cant imagine how else you or anyone else could explain the difference in todays young people.
John5796, do you support unwanted pregnancies that will lead to more abortions regardless of abortion's legal status? Avoiding unwanted pregnancy is why this is a good idea, not because "anything goes". Teens are going to experiment regardless of how much they are shrieked at, its more important that they do it safely.
Why not. We've removed the bible and any teaching of right and wrong in this 'do your own thing' society. Pregnant 11 year olds are only one of the consequences of this. Might as well give them condoms and gift certificates to Motel 6 too.