I was appalled when I heard that a middle school in Maine has decided to distribute birth control pills to the students. Apparently there has been an increase in student pregnancies at the school and the free condoms weren't doing the job. The pills will be distributed by the health center. The students have to have parental permission to use the health center, but they do not have to disclose to the parents that they are using the pill. This means that 11, 12, and 13 year old girls will be taking the pill.
Now, working at an alternative school where I know of at least 5 girls who are pregnant I realize that the world thinks that they need to keep the sexually active girls from getting pregnant. And to some extent they are right. But there are two flaws with their plan of distributing the pill. First, I worry about the health risks that come with taking the pill. While usually no one has major problems with the pill, there are the women that have those nasty side effects. Which include:
- Blood clots in the legs, lungs, a stoppage or rupture of blood vessels in the brain, blockage of blood vessels in the heart (heart attack), or other organs of the body.
- Liver tumors
I think that adult women have a better chance of recognizing when these side effects may be occurring. Furthermore, they are better equipped to realize what these risks are and decide if they are willing to take that risk. Second, I honestly doubt that any 11, 12 or 13 year old that is sexually active is mature or responsible enough to remember to take a pill at the same time every day. This means that the availability of the pill most likely isn’t going to keep these little girls from getting pregnant.
I applaud their efforts, but I think that they need to get the parents to take the responsibility for their children. To me this is just another situation where society is trying to help out, but in the end they are just making the kids less likely to turn to their own parents, which is really what is needed in these situations.
2 comments:
I too was appauled! I guess they've given up on teaching good old fashiond family values. It's sad for sure.
Thanks for your comment and happy birthday to you too. I really thought I would never get to this age. When does it stop?
One of the things about this story that surprised me most was the location of the school. I was suprised to learn that it wasn't in Baltimore, or Houston, or Los Angelos or Miami, but rather Maine. Crazy. Also, this is an example of administrators and society in general missing the point. So their young women are becoming pregnant in middle school and they think that condoms and medication are the answer. Have they ever stopped to think that teaching abstinence is also an answer? I get tired of the nay sayers who claim that abstinence is unrealistic. Providing the pills and condoms is like the government out here in Baltimore and D.C. that provide the junkies with clean needles so that they won't share and spread diseases. What they are doing though is encouraging these junkies to continue using ILLEGAL DRUGS! If the drugs are illegal, why don't they spend the money and effort on reform, education and intervention? Well, I won't get too carried away right now, but I disagree entirely with the attitude and thought of this middle school in Maine. It will only bring more problems.
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