Should Birth Control be available in HS?

DOVE1920 · #1 10-12-2001, 01:16 AM

The U.S. has the highest rate of teen pregnancies. And STDs are highest among young adults. Should birth control be made available anonymously to high school and maybe even grammar school *shudder* students?

spindahrellah · #2 10-12-2001, 10:07 AM

yes...i would rather have my child be able to obtain it anonymously than have them trying to anonymously have an abortion...or go through with the pregnancy and hinder what could have been a better, more opportuned, and less stress filled life absent of having a child at such an early age...

blueberi1920 · #3 10-12-2001, 11:56 AM

No! The school system is not a planned parenthood or any other local health clinic.
Besides birth control should not just be handed to anybody, you need to talk with someone and find out what birth control option is right for you. I don't know about eveybody else but at my high school we only had 3 nurses for 2500 students.
It is a sad situation in this country with teen pregnancy, but the schools already have a larger task at hand, education.

Texas_Dove · #4 10-12-2001, 02:53 PM

I'm somewhere in the middle on this issue. It might be better if schools prepared literature on "sex issues" for students to take home to discuss with their parents, relatives, guardians etc...

The schools could require that the responsible adult sign a form to show that they did in fact have a discussion with the student about sex (the same as with a report card).

I think the literature should be age appropriate and the process might have to be repeated a few times (with more advanced material each time) during the students grade school tenure.

ONE DOVE, ONE LOVE

Special1920 · #5 10-13-2001, 12:40 AM

IMHO the young ladies would not use it if it was available in HS. I think it's the in thing to have a baby in HS. I hear the young ladies bragging on it all the time. How sad!

MIDWESTDIVA · #6 10-13-2001, 09:50 PM

I remember watching a news program some years ago that dealt with this same topic. One school that started giving out birth control said that they did not have any pregnant girls that year. The year before, there were several.

I have mixed feelings about the issue, but I do believe free contraception should be available to the students. The majority of them will have sex anyway. I'm sure its easier to concentrate on your studies when you're not pregnant and scared. And from a financial standpoint, I'm sure it's cheaper to pay for birth control, than it is to pay for medical and child care expenses.

wannabez · #7 10-13-2001, 11:52 PM

i think you should be able to get birth control while your in high school by yourself because when i was in high school i came out and told my mother that i was having sex because i thought i was pregnant and not to mention that my bestfriend was pregnant and i thought she would be happy that i was trying to protect myself ( we were using condoms as well but i wanted to be extra sure and careful) and she told me no!!! i had to wait until i was 19 yrs old before i started taking birth control and it's the best thing that's every happened to me( i will leave the reason why out

)

Finer Woman10-A-91 · #8 10-14-2001, 01:33 AM

We wish it were as easy as here ya go...take bc and you will be fine. Call me old fashioned, but I still believe abstinence should be taught. Not all of us were having sex when we were in highschool...or college. The growing AIDS population is in the highschool age group. Pregnant? Shoot, ya betta hope ya don't contract a fatal disease!

No, I don't think bc in the highschools is the answer at all. I think we need to deal with why young girls believe sex is a substitute for love. We need to address why young girls knowingly are willing to struggle off of the system with that cute little baby everyone coos and ahhs over, that loves her mama unconditionally. We need to ask ourselves why do young girls want to have babies and not go to college....or do anything for that matter. We need to ask why or how young boys impregnate multiple girls and they do not assume the responsibility of their role in the conjugation. We need to stop believing its okay to cut afterschool programs from our education system. These are the hours when children are home alone and are most likely to have sex.

I believe in my heart of hearts when we start addressing the needs of our youth on a very personal level we will be able to make more progress in decreasing the number of teenage pregnancies. Our young girls and young boys need our guidance and they need to learn to be more in tune with their own self worth.

Plug: "Don't Give It Away" by Iyanla Vanzant

Although this book is geared toward young women, many of the concepts can be used with young men.

DOVE1920 · #9 10-14-2001, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Finer Woman10-A-91

No, I don't think bc in the highschools is the answer at all. I think we need to deal with why young girls believe sex is a substitute for love. We need to address why young girls knowingly are willing to struggle off of the system with that cute little baby everyone coos and ahhs over, that loves her mama unconditionally. We need to ask ourselves why do young girls want to have babies and not go to college....or do anything for that matter. We need to ask why or how young boys impregnate multiple girls and they do not assume the responsibility of their role in the conjugation. We need to stop believing its okay to cut afterschool programs from our education system. These are the hours when children are home alone and are most likely to have sex.

I totally agree that there is a bigger issue that needs to be addressed. But since kids are having sex we need to let them know how to protect themselves.

Finer Woman10-A-91 · #10 10-14-2001, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DOVE1920

I totally agree that there is a bigger issue that needs to be addressed. But since kids are having sex we need to let them know how to protect themselves.

I agree. Information is truly power. However, children are much smarter than the generation before them. I have heard girls say...they want to have a baby. Its no great secret how you do it. Any daytime soap opera will give step by step instructions. I mean, I hear condom ads on the radio and see them all over magazines. This certainly was not the case when I was a child. Somebody betta start talking to these children...and listenting or we gonna have a really big problem.

PrettyPetite · #11 10-14-2001, 12:33 PM

This is my view on it: If you can have special schools in the public school system for pregnant 9-12 grade girls,(where they can receive child care, prenatal care, and the like at the actual school site), AND, if sex ed is included in a required health class, then you damn sure can give out birth control. Why teach these kids about protecting themselves by using condoms, if you don't give them the weapons to do so???

I personally believe in abstinence. BUT, as we all know, some of our younger brothers and sisters aren't trying to hear that. So instead of just screaming abstinence, let's tell them that if they AREN'T going to practice abstinence, WRAP IT UP!!!

lil_sunshine · #12 10-24-2001, 06:38 PM

I think that birth control should be given out in school. I figure that some students are afraid to go to their parents to let them know that they've started having sex, or even thought about it. It's a scary world out there, and people should protect themselves however they can. For some of these students, it may be too late to preach about abstinence, but for those who aren't active yet, it would be a good idea to tell them, "Abstinence first, but if you are having sex, be sure to protect yourself."