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I hope to hell my daughter doesn’t have sex at that age. But if she got pregnant because she was afraid to tell me and I didn’t sign the waiver, I’d never forgive myself. I take the same view on all parent-teen issues: Work like hell to establish the kind of relationship that will inspire your kid to talk to you when he or she needs counsel. But do NOT bring the law into it. Cops and bureaucrats can’t make your family work the way you want it to. Their intervention, or the threat of their intervention, is far more likely to make things worse.

Yeah, I agree. I never have understood the 'abstinence-only' crowd. What exactly does that line in the sand mean to you? Don't you see that the stuff on the other side of the line is waaaaaaaay worse than the stuff on this side of the line?

You work as hard as you can for 18 years to raise your kids to be good people, no one WANTS their kids to be having sex at 12, no one. But kids DO have sex at 12, plenty of them. What if your parenting fails?

The consequences of a 12 year old having protected sex are psychological. I would be apalled, would think myself a bad parent, but would work through it with my daughter.

The consequences of a 12 year old having unprotected sex? How can you say that isn't waaaaaaaay worse?

Even if I granted that sex-ed/birth control encourages sex (I don't), would I trade some small percentage increase in the chance my daughter would have sex for a near-guarantee that she wouldn't be a pregnant teen with an STD? You bet your ass I would.

Same goes for the HPV vaccine.

"The consequences of a 12 year old having unprotected sex? How can you say that isn't waaaaaaaay worse?"

Birth control is only supposed to be used for 7 years because of the amount of hormones it provides, must be taken every day (which a young child is probably not responsible enough to do), and would severely alter her development during puberty.

So, the biological horror you would inflict upon your child and the long term problems are probably far worse than getting pregnant.

And "protected" sex? The pill doesn't stop STDs. Thats not really good protection.

unless school clinics are run by MD's (which i doubt), no one is going to give your kid a prescription for birth control without your express permission.

a waiver doesn't cut it, no sane doctor is going to examine and prescribe for a minor unless you specifically approve it.

they can give them counseling, and over the counter birth control, but no one is going to give your kid drugs without informed consent, and that means parental consent.

The story is a classic case of the media adding 2 (maine school clinics offering the pill) plus 2 (once you sign the waiver, the services are confidential) and getting 5 (you sign the waiver, they can give hormones to your kid without you knowing it)

not a chance.

the pills have side effects, and most schools won't give your kid an aspirin because of the liability.

The "abstinence only crowd" is well aware that the "stuff on the other side of the line" is worse. Most people I have talked to who favor abstinence-only teaching don't see the growing number of teenage pregnancies as a problem to be solved, but as a consequence to a larger problem which is promiscuity and "immorality."

To them, pregnant 14 year-olds are not to be pitied, but condemned. They chose to have sex, after all. To support abstinence only education, one needs to choose to eschew both compassion and practicality in favor of social conservatism for its own sake. That is not a difficult decision for many people.

Maryland has a law that gives an exception to birth control as one thing that medical doctors can give with parent consent. Its unique in that regard. They've had this law for a few decades and it hasn't fixed any problems, but just made more.

Practicality? Compassion? The most compassionate and practical thing to do is seperate boys and girls until they are 18, and keep them from having teachers of the opposite gender. Then there wont be any pregnancies, disease, nor rapes or molestations.

But you are just trying to make an absurd point after all.

San:

Maryland has a law that gives an exception to birth control as one thing that medical doctors can give with parent consent. Its unique in that regard. They've had this law for a few decades and it hasn't fixed any problems, but just made more.

I imagine it's not as effective as giving kids pornography and teaching them how to masturbate...

San:

Maryland has a law that gives an exception to birth control as one thing that medical doctors can give with parent consent. Its unique in that regard. They've had this law for a few decades and it hasn't fixed any problems, but just made more.

are the ones in maine run by doctors?

I have no problem with educating children about the dangers of having unprotected sex, but supplying them with birth control pills only solves a small portion of the problem. Besides the fact that if they don't take it as prescribed they can still get pregnant, it does not prevent AIDS or STD's which are a much bigger problem than teen and/or pre-teen pregnancy. What about the side effects of the pill? Are we so sure that these children will heed the risks of other things and also use condoms to prevent AIDS or STD's or will they feel like so many others have over the years that they are immune to those risks. Those things only happen to other people. So instead of having a daughter who is pregnant with an STD are we going to have a daughter with an STD or AIDS? But, thank goodness she isn't pregnant.

Don't you think there is a point or an age limit to which we have to stop saying, "well, they are going to do it anyway" and let them know that their inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated for their own good? Rationalizing anything that way is just as irresponsible as allowing your child to do something that you really don't agree with just because "everyone else is doing it". Do you really believe that they have the capacity to make an informed decision on matters of that magnitude? Don't 11 and 12 year olds really still need supervision in their lives? Isn't it the responsibility of a parent to guide their children on the right path?

San:

Practicality? Compassion? The most compassionate and practical thing to do is seperate boys and girls until they are 18, and keep them from having teachers of the opposite gender. Then there wont be any pregnancies, disease, nor rapes or molestations.

But you are just trying to make an absurd point after all.

Monday, October 22, 2007. San expresses support for Sharia-modeled law. Calls complete separation of boys and girls (outside of school, as well as in, he must have obviously meant, unless he thinks teens are getting pregnant from sex during school) "practical."

I am confused as to what form of prescription birth control these states are providing. Is it emergency contraception like the morning after pill, or is it a specific, daily dose as San suggested. The article doesn't specify - can anyone enlighten me?

I was under the impression that it referred to the daily-dose birth control pill. The "morning after pill" would be even more controversial. But someone who's 100% sure should chime in on that.

Strangely enough, I almost agree with San, despite his eccentricities, on the fact that giving out pills might be a bit too far. As he points out, the pill is essentially a hormone, and can't be taken forever. What will this mean when they turn 20?

Since parents need to be involved anyways, it might be best to simply leave the issue of birth control pills in the home. between parents and kids. So long as we don't condemn ourselves to abstinence-only education, I'm more or less satisfied.

Does it really matter what form of prescription birth control it is? It is still a prescription that should not be prescribed by anyone but a medical doctor and preferably one that knows the whole family medical history since there are medical reasons that could preclude someone from taking any oral contraceptives due to the side effects that they can cause.

jade:

I am confused as to what form of prescription birth control these states are providing. Is it emergency contraception like the morning after pill, or is it a specific, daily dose as San suggested. The article doesn't specify - can anyone enlighten me?

in maryland it was Norplant and depro provera they were offering.

considering that (like in portland) they were mostly inner city and ethnic kids, it raised all kinds of ugly "social engineering" accusations.