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Maine middle schoolers get contraceptives- 10 Points
10/18/07
OK. Calm Down. We know it's wrong, but let's think about why:
Follow up:
1. Parents can still opt out of the program by not signing consent. But, after they sign, everything goes. I guess it's so that a girl can do things without her fuddy-duddy parents (or her nutty ones; some exist) giving her a hard time. But which parents, knowing that their child can be treated for things without telling them, sign such a thing? Does that make sense?
2. It's bad because the school is essentially working against the majority of parents: "Some of you may have these quaint beliefs at home, but, if they cramp your style, come on over and we'll take care of you. We know what you want and we can help you be safe. Our philosophy: Party on and be excellent to your body." Why would any parent vote to be undermined? To help their neighbor's kid?
3. It's bad because it encourages underage sex, which most parents wish to prevent and most liberals think is fine (Would somebody who votes for this think that underage sex is very bad? Of course not. ["If students are having sex they might as well do it the safe way. It's a way for schools to show that they actually care," says Shauna Ling-Choung]) It's a lie that kids will do things regardless of what society tells them. If that were the case, educators across the spectrum wouldn't be so anxious to teach conservation, homosexuality, non-smoking, anti-drug education, hemp awareness, global warming, patriotism, anti-Americanism, religion, secularism, the Bible, Howard Zinn, etc.
4. If educators see teenage behavior as inevitable, that the only thing society can do is teach them to be safe, and that helping them to do said activity safely doesn't encourage that behavior or send a message that it's OK, we'd have:
a. Gun safety classes.
b. How to smoke filtered cigarettes classes.
c. How to take drugs safely or some kind of needle exchange.
d. Safety precautions for drag races.
5. Condom giveaway policies transfer power from the family to the state. That means less freedom, people. It means a further infantilization of society eventually.
6. Why do all parents have to suffer because "some kids can't talk to their parents?" Why's that my problem? The schools have to undermine all parents because some aren't any good? Maybe the schools should just keep them until six in case some parents don't make them do their homework.
7. When schools vote for abstinence, of course they have a hidden agenda (to teach traditional values). If you think educators only want to help and don't have a hidden agenda when it comes to teenagers and sex, you're naive. What might that agenda be for a doctrinaire liberal? Well, as many admit, it's to break down the traditional, patriarchal, religious structure of society and replace it with one where all groupings of people are equal. Government would ensure that non-lucrative life decisions will be paid for by the usual suspects. Enticing teenagers to have sex is simply harnessing a powerful force for their end: A rebellious teenager breaks down the decentralized authority of the home. When the parents or the child heed help, or the parents don't care, the government ("village," in a perverse sense) steps in.
8. Imagine a school where the textbook said that the ideal relationship is one where people are married to somebody of the opposite sex and raise good children.
9. Public sex education has been around since the early seventies. Has anything: underage sex, disease, pregnancies, psychological harm (difficult to quantify, I know, but a girl who waits until later is probably better off, wouldn't you say?) improved? Pregnancies have in the last fifteen years or so, but that's a totally cultural phenomenon. Why do we keep trying things that don't work?
Abstinence education may be ineffective, but, looking at the numbers and using common sense, a case can be made that non-abstinence sex education actually does harm. Many liberals will look at these numbers and continue to push their programs just like conservatives will continue to make a case for abstinence education.
10. Is it illegal for underage kids to buy condoms? If not, why can't they buy them themselves?
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 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 Allen, said he felt it violated the rights of parents and puts students at risk of cancer because of hormones in the pill.
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o Contraceptives for Kids?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 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., on Wednesday stopped providing free condoms to students after district officials learned of the month-old program. The district has a policy against providing contraceptives.
), 12:22:13 am, 1129 words PermalinkCategories: K-12, Five paragraph essay :: 2 comments »
2 comments
If they aren't responsible enough to use condoms, how in the world are they going to remember birth control pills - and what is the defense against STD's?
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