Middle School offering girls birth control

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Wow! I was first offended that Texas was trying to make it mandatory for 8-10 year old girls to have an experimental vaccine for cervical cancer. Now 11-13 year old girls are being targeted for birth control. I ask myself what is going on with the girls today and realize it's not them. It's the pharmacutial companies that are paying the government and putting them in their back pocket.

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

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.

[eric&gen 0]

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[Nessa 23]

[almaty 19]

wow, Maine has changed since i lived there

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Parental permission required

That's the key... while I'd be troubled if I had 13 yr. old who was sexually active, I'd rather she/he has access to protection than nothing at all.

[Mags 112]

I've been discussing this on another site so I shall just C&P my reply from there. I'm lazy.

Putting a girl on the pill does not help teach kids about safe sex. It may prevent pregnancy (if taken correctly) but does not protect against HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases. Chlamydia is on the rise, SCARILY on the rise, which proves that the safe sex message just does not get through enough.

If a boy thinks a girl is on the pill he'll do his damnedest to get out of using a condom.

My son is 13 and recently acquired himself a cheerleader girlfriend. He hasn't been out with her much so far but I did say to him the other day "Look, you shouldn't be having sex at 13 but if your going to have sex use a condom, if you're too embarrassed to buy one then let us know, I'd rather you used one and stayed safe rather than were too embarrassed to have one and got her pregnant or contracted a STD."

He looked at me, said "Errrrrgh Mum! All my mates have had the same convo with their mums too!". I've also told him "no sex! If you get your girlfriend pregnant there'll be no college for you as you'll be working in McDonalds supporting the bloody thing".

I wasn't embarrassed about talking to him, these kinds of things just don't have that effect on me.

If our kids are going to have sex there isn't anything we can do about it, unless we never let them out of the house. So we should try to make it as safe as possible and that's up to the parents to reinforce, imo.

Edited October 18, 2007 by Mags

[one...two...tree 2,762]

If our kids are going to have sex there isn't anything we can do about it, unless we never let them out of the house. So we should try to make it as safe as possible and that's up to the parents to reinforce, imo.

Exactly.

[trailmix 77]

Wow! I was first offended that Texas was trying to make it mandatory for 8-10 year old girls to have an experimental vaccine for cervical cancer. Now 11-13 year old girls are being targeted for birth control. I ask myself what is going on with the girls today and realize it's not them. It's the pharmacutial companies that are paying the government and putting them in their back pocket.

What do you find offensive? Is it a moral issue for you or more of a 'it's the parents responsibility'?

[Mags 112]

Wow! I was first offended that Texas was trying to make it mandatory for 8-10 year old girls to have an experimental vaccine for cervical cancer. .

If I had a daughter she would be first in line. Certain strains of cervical cancer are preventable and this vaccine means that one form of cancer can be eradicated and, imo, there is nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all.

The average women will have sex in her life and this form of cervical cancer is caused by HPV which is sexually transmitted. By authorising this vaccine you are not giving girls a free reign to have sex; you are protecting them from a disease that could kill them later on in life.

[Amby 490]

If our kids are going to have sex there isn't anything we can do about it, unless we never let them out of the house. So we should try to make it as safe as possible and that's up to the parents to reinforce, imo.

I don't have any children but I agree with you 100%. kids are going to do it anyways so might as well make sure they're safe and know it's ok to come to you for help

Also, I am all for the HPV vaccination because cervical cancer is not something I'd like to see anyone have to go through and if it helps prevent it I'm definately for it 100%

Edited October 18, 2007 by Amber&Neil

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Ack. Middle school has changed since my day. Here's another article covering the same topic.

http://www.healthbolt.net/2007/10/17/maine...o-11-year-olds/

On the Yahoo Associated Press version they say "after an outbreak of pregnancy among middle school children". (As if it's a diesease.)

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In response to the question asked me: Making the vaccine mandatory is offensive when it should be voluntery.

[Amby 490]

On the Yahoo Associated Press version they say "after an outbreak of pregnancy among middle school children".

chavs lol

Edited October 18, 2007 by Amber&Neil

[Kevin and 10]

They can hand out birth control, but not an asprin. Next thing you know they will be teaching 6-7 year olds about "alternitive" lifstyles. Oh wait they are doing that too. Gotta love public education.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

On the Yahoo Associated Press version they say "after an outbreak of pregnancy among middle school children".

chavs lol

I learned a new word today. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=chav

Look at who is the celebrity Chavs in the pictures offer of them.

chav 10769 up, 1258 down

Picture this a young lad about 12 years of age and 4 ½ feet high baseball cap at ninety degrees in a imitation addidas tracksuit, with trouser legs tucked into his socks (of course, is definitely the height of fashion). This lad is strutting around, ** in one hand jewellery al over the over, outside McDonalds acting as if he is 8 foot tall and built like a rugby player, when some poor unsuspecting adult (about 17/18) walks round the corner wanting to go to mcdonalds for his dinner glances at the young lad, the young lad jumps up in complete disgust and says “Whats your problem? Wanna make sommin of it? Bling Bling” when the adult starts to walk towards the young lad, the young lad pisses himself and runs off to either his pregnant 14-year-old girlfriend or his brother in the army crying his eyes out.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

OMG! Definition # 13! Where have I been? When did this start?

13. Chav 283 up, 45 down

Oh, my! A twelve year-old girl wearing a t-shirt proclaiming her status as a ‘#######’. How tasteful. Mother would be so proud…

Is she..? Yes, she is! A Chavette! Sorry, didn’t spot it quickly enough – forgive me, I’m blind.