Middle School Gives Students Birth Control Pill

Debate time. I read this article...what are you thoughts. Do you think it's ok to provide middle school students w/ BC? Middle School Gives Students Birth Control

Re: Middle School Gives Students Birth Control Pill

No, I dont think it is ok. I dont think it is the school's business to prescribe it.

Re: Middle School Gives Students Birth Control Pill

If I ever found out my daughter was given ANY medication without my permission, there would be hell to pay. This is not the school's call to hand out birth control. She is a minor and as her parent, I have complete say over this and the school system has no right to do that.

Re: Middle School Gives Students Birth Control Pill

Re: Middle School Gives Students Birth Control Pill

I feel very strongly against it. Not on a moral issue (I will keep this for myself!) but I absolutelly cannot stand that B/C is being compared to condoms.

This is a PRESCRIPTION DRUG. Not just some sort of candy. There is no way (if I had a daughter) that I will agree on a school to give my daugther a prescription medicine without my approval. To my knowledge, school is not the guardian of a minor child.

My question is... who will be liable if one of those girls get sick, has a stroke from it? I would sue the #@#M> out of them if it happened to my child.

ETA: what if the child has a medical history that is contraindicated from the B/C? How would the school know a child's medical history?

Message edited 10/29/2007 1:03:29 PM.

Re: Middle School Gives Students Birth Control Pill

my first reaction was no way this should not be done in middle school..... but then I got to thinking about all my friends that work in really bad neighborhoods where parents are non existent and the children don't know better and start having sex at young ages... maybe they should have access to bc

Message edited 10/29/2007 12:47:09 PM.

Re: Middle School Gives Students Birth Control Pill

For some reason I can't open the link, but is the school really claiming that providing BC pills promotes safe sex? That seems incredibly irresponsible.

Re: Middle School Gives Students Birth Control Pill

Re: Middle School Gives Students Birth Control Pill

There was a thread about this a few weeks ago. Link

This is what I wrote last time:
"While I think that offering contraception and sex education is important, I am very nervous about the medical aspect of this. My first concern is about children being given the patch or the pill at such a young age without their parent's consent. We are talking about school health officials (are they doctors) who may or may not have access to a child's full medical history dispensing drugs to very young minors without their parental consent. That makes me very nervous."

I still feel the same way. I think sex education is important, and I have no trouble giving out condoms because obviously some of those students are having sex. But I just don't think its right for schools to be giving out medication without parental consent.

Re: Middle School Gives Students Birth Control Pill

Re: Middle School Gives Students Birth Control Pill

Has anybody else brought up the point that if girls are on the pill they might be even less likely to use a condom, therefore spreading STDs at a much higher rate? That would concern me.

Re: Middle School Gives Students Birth Control Pill

I agree to giving out condoms in schools but not BCP or patches. Those only prevent pregnancy, not disease and the BCP has side effects like any medication.
My original vote was yes, but I thought it was about condoms not BCP.

Message edited 8/13/2009 11:44:00 AM.

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Message edited 3/7/2013 2:54:14 PM.

Re: Middle School Gives Students Birth Control Pill

I think having access to condoms which help against pregnancy AND STDs is very important. I think the kids will have sex whether or not they have access to any form of birth control. It’s my opinion that providing birth control does not ENCOURAGE sex but just helps kids make better decisions about it and points out the consequences of sex. I do not think abstinence works at all, because it makes sex this ‘mystical’ ‘grownup thing’ and we are CONSTANTLY taught “knowledge is power” and “knowing is half the battle” and how bad it is to NOT be informed. That being said - I don't know that the pill is a great idea. It doesn’t protect against STDs for one, which I think is the biggest ‘problem’ with it.

Re: Middle School Gives Students Birth Control Pill

Re: Middle School Gives Students Birth Control Pill

There are a whole host of issues associated with this new policy, but one of the biggest for me is that this particular district has parents that have already given their consent for their children to be treated AND they know they can't get access to that information unless their child tells them.

To me this screams that some parents have already passed on their duty to provide medical care for their child to the school.

Since that is the case in this district - parents have already signed consent forms for their child to be treated for any medical condition and they can't find out if, when or for what reason their child has used this health clinic - expanding the care to provide another prescription drug (in this case birth control pills) - what difference does it make that this particular prescription drug has been added to the repitoire of medication that will be dispensed. (I mean aside from the moral issues surrounding 11 years olds engaging sexual intercourse - and strictly on the question of dispensing prescription meds).

Re: Middle School Gives Students Birth Control Pill

I don't know if this was mentioned in last week's thread or not, but the one thing I would point out is that the parents have to give consent for their child to use the school's clinic in the first place. Every news story I have seen on this topic has said this. So, the only way a student would obtain the pill is if the parents have given consent for the student to use the clinic. If you don't want your kid to get the pill, don't give the school your consent for the kid to use the clinic.

I would not want my child to be on birth control at such a young age, but I probably would not give consent for them to use the school clinic either. Any medical care needed would be provided by the medical professionals I choose and I would pull my child out of school for appointments. But, I am also someone that would be involved enough in my child's life to ensure that this decision is not left up to the school clinic.

I can see where school personnel have concerns for those kids who are having unprotected sex at such an early age. I think that the intention is good, but maybe early intervention with some of those students would be a better solution.