Personal Injury Law

Should Contraceptives Be Allowed In School?

By Chrissie Cole

Injuryboard.com Asks: 

Should parental permission be needed before schools dispense contraceptives?

Across AmericaThe "Pregnancy Pact" made national headlines in June when it was reported that 17 high-school girls were expecting babies after entering into an alleged pact to have their babies together that year.

The high school health clinic in Gloucester, Massachusetts had become suspicious after seeing a surge in girls seeking pregnancy tests. Of 1,200 students, 150 pregnancy tests were administered during the school year.

Now, that same high school has unanimously voted to allow condoms and birth control pills to be made available at the school.

The principal of the school at the time resigned two months after the news came out about the pact. The school superintendent and the mayor said there was no evidence to corroborate the pact story.

It will be up to parents to decide whether or not their child can get the contraceptiv, which may ultimately mean that the new policy has little impact. Kids who cannot go to their parents for sex education, will likely not go for permission to obtain contraceptives.

However, the program will launch as soon as a parental consent form can be drawn up.

While allowing children access to condoms and birth control may help, contraceptives may actually increase the risk of some STDs and sexually transmitted diseases, such as Chlamydia.

A report in March, by the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control found one in four teenage girls' ages 14 to 19 has a sexually transmitted disease.

Planned Parenthood calls for updated sex education programs that discuss abstinence as well as contraception and sexually transmitted disease.

Full post as published by InjuryBoard on October 10, 2008 (boomark / email).