Giving Students Birth Control: Good or Bad?

King Middle School in Portland, Maine is going to offer the service of providing birth control pills. I think this is a good idea.

Middle school may seem too early to offer birth control to students, but it's really not. Kids start puberty in middle school, hormones start working, and their bodies start changing. Kids are more likely to start to have feelings of attraction to other students. They start to experience new things and are more likely to experiment. They might become curious about sex and decide to find out what it is all about.

Now, while many kids who are in middle school do not have sex, some do. Depending on when sex education is taught, how well it is taught, and how comfortable the children are with talking to their parents about sex, there could be some issues. Kids might not know about safe sex, the risks of sexually transmitted diseases, or the risk of becoming pregnant without proper protection. Not being informed about sex, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases, children may not understand the consequences of having unprotected sex. If kids feel they cannot talk to someone at home about sexual intercourse, it is important for them to have someone to talk, even if it is a school nurse, so they can be educated about sex.

I have heard some people say they feel offering birth control pills is promoting sex to their children, but that is not what it is supposed to do. It is to be available for those who do have sex, to help protect them, to help prevent them from becoming pregnant at an early age. Birth control is not the only thing King Middle School offers either. There is also counseling students can go to, to learn about sex, pregnancy and STDs. While the birth control pill does not 100% protect girls from getting pregnant, it is better than no protection at all. Also, it is important that when these pills are given to young girls, they understand that the pill does not 100% prevent pregnancy and it does not protect you from STDs.

Some parents may not approve of their children having sex at such a young age, and the children may feel that if they have had sex, they cannot talk to their parents about it because they do not approve, or they might fear they will get in serious trouble. This is why it is important for children to have someone to go to if they need it. It is better for them to get on the pill than to end up pregnant and try to abort it themselves, possibly causing serious harm to their bodies because they know their parents don't approve. Also, so kids do not get pregnant at such an early age, way before they are even ready to think about having children.

Sex is a part of life. Kids will be exposed to it at one point or another, whether it is something in the media, or in school. It is nothing to be ashamed of. I have to say I don't fully understand parents complaining about birth control promoting sex, when media and entertainment have extremely sexual content (yes, they can sensor media and entertainment, but once again that will not stop a child from viewing it). However, it is important, if kids are having sex, we protect them, and birth control pills are one way of doing that, along with counseling and sex education. Kids are introduced to sex at younger and younger ages. Kids are having sex at younger and younger ages, the same with STDs, and even pregnancy is happening earlier and earlier. It has been said that only teaching kids about abstinence does not work all that well, and that teaching about different methods of protection along with abstinence is more successful. So, the pill can be used as the last step. First, educate the kids, and offer counseling, encourage them to talk to their parents and then if something still needs to be done, give the pill to the students.

It is important for children to be well educated about sex. The more they know the more wise their decisions will be. Many times when kids are told they are not allowed to do something, they want to do it even more. But it is important for parents to try to establish a relationship with children where the children feel they can come and talk to the parents about anything. The more comfortable they are talking to their parents or legal guardian, the less likely they will go to the school to get birth control pills. The more informed they are about sex the safer they will be. In addition, it is important that it be stressed to them that they should not have sex until they are positive they are ready. Proper sex education could help prevent kids from having sex at such a young age and it could protect them from getting pregnant or STDs.

Also, it's important that before girls are given birth control from the school, that it is known if they are taking any other medications too, in case there could be some sort of reaction. I understand that this is also a concern of many parents. However, schools usually have medical records of the students and know their medical history and what medications they are on.

I feel there needs to be good sex education programs in school. When I was in middle school, we did not have sex ed. until 8th grade. By 8th grade, a girl in my grade was already pregnant, some others were having sex, and mind you, this was quite a while ago. I remember seeing a few pregnant girls through out my three years in middle school. Starting sex education early might have prevented some of these pregnancies. Offering a service like King Middle School, might have helped prevent some of the pregnancies too. At my school, they did teach abstinence along with many different kinds of protection. However, some schools only teach abstinence. I think that needs to change, that will not stop a kid from having sex. Better programs for sex education and starting to teach it early could help prevent kids from having sex at a young age.

King Middle School is not trying to promote sex. They are trying to keep the students safe. They are trying to keep 11 through 14 year olds from getting pregnant long before they are ready to have a child, long before they are mature enough to have a child, and before they leave their own childhood. I think what King Middle School is doing is a good thing. It is giving young girls a safe haven to go to, to get help if they need it. It is to help young girls.

I feel it is important for kids to be able to talk to their parents about issues like this, especially since it is a part of their health, but it does not always work that way. Some kids feel they cannot talk to their parents, some kids have bad relationships with their parents, and some parents do not care. I think it is very important for kids to have an adult to go to, to talk to, and to get help from when they need it. I don't think being able to get birth control from a school will put up a bigger wall between parents and their children, it is there to help the children who cannot go to their parents. I think King Middle School offering birth control pills is a good idea; it can help young girls out.