Although the national coverage seems to have died down a bit, the local controversy regarding the Portland School Board’s decision to allow King Middle School’s Health Center to distribute medical birth control to students rages on. All of the national outrage has created some misconceptions as well as brought some excellent concerns to the table.
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According to a national survey, 18 to 20 percent of adolescents have had intercourse by age 14, reports CBS News national correspondent Byron Pitts. [Birth Control For Maine Middle Schoolers]
- One misconception that conservative talk show hosts and leaders have led the public to believe is that Maine is the first school system to provide this kind of service. Actually, middle schools in Baltimore and Seattle have provided oral contraceptives to students since the early 1990s and the programs have been successful in reducing teen pregnancy rates. In Baltimore, where there are health clinics at three middle schools, the number full-term pregnancies for girls under 15 dropped from 113 in 1995 to 44 in 2005. Maine has the 5th lowest teen pregnancy rate in the country, so while it isn’t expecting as dramatic a rate drop, there were a reported 7 teen pregnancies among 3 middle schools in four years and those numbers hopefully can be reduced further. King reported 1 pregnancy last year and other students who were sexually active.
- Arguments have been made that it’s unhealthy and perhaps medically dangerous for 11 and 12 year-olds to be taking oral birth control; however, in many communities across the country, doctors have been safely prescribing the pill for middle school-age girls who are either sexually active, such as in my previous story about the sexually active sixth grader I knew, or for girls with frequent and painful periods that make them miss school — yes, girls as young as that do get their periods — I got mine that early.
- King Middle School, the school at the center of this controversy, has been handing out condoms as a method of safe teen sex since 2000. This has not eliminated unplanned teen pregnancies; I’m sure this is for the same reasons that unplanned adult pregnancies occur despite the availability of condoms.
- Although in recent years, there have seen scares about hormone intake. The hormone dosage in birth control pills is the lowest it has ever been and does not pose a major health risk or affect a girl’s development. According to Dr. Chris Stenberg, director of the pediatric clinic at Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center in Portland, most girls who have gotten their period have been in puberty for about two years and are mostly done growing length-wise. Meanwhile, pregnancy itself takes physical and emotional tolls on a young teen body that young girls just are not prepared for: why punish them for the rest of their lives for something they could be protected from with a little responsible action?
- One of the new concerns raised by reports that students in the Portland middle schools are sexually active is that health center nurses are not reporting illegal sexual activity. In Maine, sex with “a nonspousal minor under 14″ is considered gross sexual assault — which leads me to question what the legal marrying age is around here. Anyway, King middle school nurses have promised to report any illegal activity.
- The treatment plan isn’t going to be a punch bowl full of condoms and oral contraceptives left on the counter for anyone to grab a handful whenever they like. The process will be much more in depth.First, The student will make an appointment with the school nurse for a visit that usually takes place during study hall or lunch. A doctor or nurse practitioner, depending on who is scheduled to work that day,will perform a physical examination on the student — the extent of which depends on the student’s history. If the student is sexually active, a urine sample will be collected and tested for sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. Most of the visit will be devoted to a conversation between the clinician and the girl to determine why she wants the contraception and to question if she is being forced onto the pill by someone else. If the clinician senses the relationship that is inappropriate or harmful, state law requires the clinician make a report to authorities. If a student requesting contraception is under 14, the clinician would refrain from writing a prescription and ask a school social worker or school nurse to join the discussion. Every effort would be made to encourage the student to involve her parents and talk about abstinence and postponing sexual behavior. But if the student is very clear that it’s a boy in school and this is what they want, then there would be a discussion about the risks, including a list of the rare side effects of the pill, the most serious of which are stroke and blood clots. The use of condoms, which reduces the risk of STDs, will still be encouraged. From the time they are prescribed the pills, students will be screened for STDs every six to 12 months.
Carol Schiller, the mother of a boy and girl who graduated from King, said she was “elated” at the committee’s vote. She said critics shocked that 11-year-olds have sex should “get over it.”
“It’s much more important that we reach out to these kids and get them the tools they need to stay safe, stay in school and get an education,” she said.
I haven’t changed my opinion. I still think this is the responsible choice. I think there are too many parents who aren’t involved in their children’s lives and certainly don’t want to be or want to ignore their children’s sex lives. Certainly no one wants to think that 11 and 12 year olds are having sex but they are. Not all of them, but some. We can’t expect that shaking our fingers at them and saying “No!” or even telling them that bad things are going to happen if they do have sex is going to work at stopping them. They want to have sex pretty much for the reasons that adults want to have sex, even more so because they’ve been told not too. The least we can do is help them to at least be a little responsible and safe while they’re not.
Sources: ‘The pill’ decision a matter of health (Portland Press Herald), Birth Control For Maine Middle Schoolers (CBS News)
Other Recommended Reading: School Board to Look at Contraceptives (The Associated Press)
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