Middle School Offers Contraceptives???

As our oldest will be starting Kindergarten next fall we have been searching out all options of where/how is best to school her. I used to think that I wanted to home school but after actually having children I decided that no I do not have the patience or desire to do that. Also I feel that others are more qualified to teach than me since I do not have a teaching degree. Lately though I can see why there is such a huge movement towards homeschooling. If you have any doubt read the article below... The public school system is not what it was when I was growing up. Almost everyone attended public schools and it was the norm. Today, at least in our city, it is not at all the norm. Many people home school and there is a very large private school presence here.

Giving the birth control pills and the patch to middle schoolers? What if they forget to take a pill one day? What about AIDS? The article also mentions that the kids have to have parental permission to go to the center but that what services the child chooses are confidential. Ummmm...isn't that a little contradictory? Also if a certain parent isn't very involved in their child's life, as the article insinuates, why would that parent be inclined to sign a parental release for their child to be treated at a clinic?

September 03
Making The Right Educational Choice For Your Children
Dr. Albert Mohler - president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary discussed this topic on his radio show in September. It was a very interesting show. Take a listen.

OK off of my soapbox and off to start my day. Must take M's to her pre-school and pray they haven't decided today that pre-schoolers have the right to choose if they want to take birth control...



Middle School Offers Contraceptives (emphasis mine)
AP
Posted: 2007-10-18 07:55:16
Filed Under: Nation News

PORTLAND, Maine (Oct. 18) - 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. 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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2007-10-17 22:51:03