Some NYC schools to offer "morning after" pills

CBS News

(CBS News) NEW YORK - New York City's Department of Education has begun offering "morning after" contraceptive pills to students in a pilot program at 13 of the city's high schools.

CBS Station WCBS reports that, in an effort to combat teen pregnancy, school nurse offices have been stocked with Plan B emergency contraception.

The pills are being made available under a new school program known as CATCH (Connecting Adolescents To Comprehensive Health), which is aimed at stemming teen pregnancy.

This is the first time the city's public schools have dispensed hormonal birth control and Plan B, and it may be a first nationwide, according to the New York Post.

According to the city's data, more than 7,000 residents get pregnant by the time they are 17 years old. More than half of those pregnancies are aborted, the Department of Health said.

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City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said she thinks the pilot program will help fight teen pregnancy.

"High school students are very sexually active and getting pregnant, so we don't have that luxury to think that they are too young to be engaged in conversations about contraception and sexual education," Quinn told WCBS.

The birth control will be available to students as young as 14 without parental notification.

The Department of Education has sent notes to parents alerting them about the new program and information on how to opt out. Just one to two percent of parents have opted out of the program, the DOE said.

New York City schools already distribute free condoms to students.

[Returntomorals]

As was mentioned in an earlier comment, the real problem here is that these young teenagers are sexually active, and no one seems to be concerned about that. It's like giving car keys to a child and telling them to have a good time, but not to wreck the car. To me this news is very unfortunate for several reasons. 1) Teenagers now an even greater incentive to increase their sexual activity. The costs have become lower. 2) Tax payers in NY City are subsidizing (not like this hasn't been going on already with condom distribution in high schools) sexual activity among teenagers in these schools. Not only are they subsidizing sexual activity, they are subsidizing abortion. I have every right in the world to voice my moral stance when there is a strong possibility that my hard earned money will be spent on something I believe is wrong. Once this begins in one place, it is sure to spread. 3) Teaching abstinence is not old fashioned. It is cheap, safe, and teaches children discipline. The news today is full of stories of rape, child molestation, infidelity, etc. If we learned to control ourselves a little more, and taught our children to do the same, we could reduce the frequencies of such problems. 4) My final concern is that when people like me voice my disapproval of such policies, and that we should teach children abstinence, we are told we are imposing our morals on others. Well, it might be a hard truth, but policies such as these are imposing morals, or the absence of, on me, and I disagree, and will make my voice heard.

[technocoffee]

The real reason the schools get involved in birth control is that many of the students were conceived by teens themselves, since their ignorant mothers did the same. Their so-called "mothers" will not teach them dignity, pride, morals or self-control--just generation after generation of pregnancy as soon as possible to get welfare, food stamps & Medicaid. Job-a-phobics all.

[Jhihmoac]

I guess all that "abstain" hype the schools tried to pass off a few years back packed up and left no forwarding address...

[Unsilent_Majority]

I have a better idea. Rather than provide the morning after pill, why doesn't the city just lift their ban on drinks with high sugar content and foods high in saturated fats. This way, everyone will be so over-weight it will be highly unlikey they'll get laid, thereby eliminating the need for the morning after pill.

[ballwyllo]

This is great news. I can't wait to see what will happen next in New York. The sky is the limit. I think that the state should pay unemployment to all students...or maybe they all should be allowed to drive to school. How about attached hotel rooms so they can be safer. Yes to all things that happen in N.Y. "Liberals Gone Wild" - the next reality show.

[audemus]

People such as yourself need to come to your senses and stop living in the 18th century. The realities of this day and age have nothing to do with the realities of another time and place. Don't you think that having unwanted Children, unloved Children, abused Children is a far greater evil than preventing the conception of a Child that could potentially find itself in such an environment ?

I, you, and everybody else DO NOT have the right to impose our values, our morality on others.

Whether you like it or not, realities such as the ones covered in this article exist....we all can address issues such as this one with maturity, compassion and intelligence...if you truly want change, that's the only place to begin....or, we can keep expressing our disgust and prejudices which accomplishes absolutely nothing.

[blessed2012]

@audemus - there are no unwanted or unloved children - there are 1000's of people waiting to adopt babies - so much so that they are going outside the country because we murder all our "unwanted/unloved" babies! Regardless of how each of us feels about abortion - why anyone thinks it's ok for the schools to do this WITHOUT parental permission is beyond me. I don't know about NY but in Ohio the schools can't give them something for a headache, cramps, etc. without parental permission so why is it ok that they can "help" a young girl make this decision without even notifying the parents. Where is their "choice?" SMH - God have mercy on us!

[micmac666]

The schools are merely picking up the slack where parents have apparently dropped the ball. The pills should come with some counseling and condoms, etc.

[sopark18211]

So no one seems to be concerned that 14 year-olds are having sex, eh? This solution is approaching the problem from the wrong end of the telescope.

[the-auburn-turtle]

Whose to say that this "emergency contraception" doesn't become a primary contraception? What is the kid in question is just 'really really sexually active' and is asking for a pill any given day? Those doses are not intended for any sort of long term use - but if you put it out there that is exactly what will happen. Why in the world would a school district take it upon themselves to even begin to try to regulate this? This is a massive lawsuit waiting to happen.

[andie52]

too many sexually active kids have no clue how to use birth control or use it correctly and this pill is not the easy answer

[the-auburn-turtle]

As a side note:

Plan B needs to be controlled in the same sense that traditional hormonal contraceptives using progestogens need to be controlled. There could be some serious problems if the product is misused and there is the potential for abuse. It doesn't seem like a good idea to me to finance kids having voluntary hormone therapy without the parents' express consent.

[13deby]

Apparently the government thinks that they know how to parent 14 year old girls better than any of those parents at the 13 New York City schools. Also apparently the government will not only now subsidize abortion it will promote it (obviously the school has to communicate somehow that this pill is available - and that it is okay to take it.) So also 14 year olds apparently can make a decision to have a (possible) abortion all by themselves - unless of course the nurse or councilor councils them. And then just how often can these girls take this pill. And do we really know the effects of the pill on 14 year old girls. Will New Yorkers be wondering why their 14 year old girls are sick - because unlike any other visit to the school nurse, this one won't be reported.

[13deby]

Apparently the government thinks that they know how to parent 14 year old girls better than any of those parents at the 13 New York City schools. Also apparently the government will now only now subsidize abortion it will promote it (obviously the school has to communicate somehow that this pill is available - and that it is okay to take it.) So also 14 year olds apparently can make a decision to have a (possible) abortion all by themselves - unless of course the nurse or councilor councils them. And then just how often can these girls take this pill. And do we really know the effects of the pill on 14 year old girls. Will New Yorkers be wondering why their 14 year old girls are sick - because unlike any other visit to the school nurse, this one won't be reported.