Birth Control For Maine Middle Schoolers
School Board Approves Birth Control Options For Students In Grades 6 Through 8
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Maine Contraception Reactions
"CBS News RAW": Members of the Portland, Maine community react to a plan that will enable middle school students to obtain birth control prescriptions from the school's health center.
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Birth Control For Students
King Middle School in Portland is the first middle school in Maine that will make a full range of contraception available to students. Byron Pitts reports.
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A Maine school board has decreed that students at King Middle School will be able to obtain birth control pills and patches at their student health center, Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007. (AP)
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King Middle School will become the first middle school in Maine, and apparently one of only a few in the nation, to make a full range of contraception available, including birth-control pills and patches.
Students would need parental permission to use the city-run health center in the school, but they wouldn't have to tell their parents they were seeking birth control.
“As a parent, I would hope that my child would come to me first,” school committee member Sarah Thompson told CBS News. “But if she doesn't feel comfortable, then I know that there's somebody there, and a support system in place for them to be able to talk to somebody."
“People I associate with are looking at me like, are you guys crazy? Is this really going to happen in Portland?” said school committee Chairman John Coyne, who opposed the new policy in the 7-2 vote by the Portland School Committee on Wednesday night.
According to a national survey, 18 to 20 percent of adolescents have had intercourse by age 14, reports CBS News national correspondent Byron Pitts.
There are no national figures on how many middle schools provide such services. Most middle schoolers range in age from 11 to 13.
“It's very rare that middle schools do this,” said Divya Mohan, a spokeswoman for the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care.
This week, the health center asked the committee to make birth-control pills available to high school-aged students who were still in middle school and unable to access the contraception available at the high school, said Portland School Committee member Robert O'Brien.
School officials said five of the school's 510 students would have qualified for the birth control under the program last year.
O'Brien, whose district includes King Middle School, said the notion that young children can now easily get birth-control pills is flat wrong.
“They don't just have a giant punch bowl full of pills,” he said,
The birth control will be given out only after extensive counseling, and no prepubescent children will get it, O'Brien said.
The lead school nurse said the health center’s staff would also encourage kids to talk with their parents, reports CBS affiliate WGME-TV.
But Coyne said a physically mature, savvy 11-year-old could get the birth control once the permission slip to use the center is signed.
“I think she could navigate the system,” he said.
Portland's three middle schools had seven pregnancies in the last five years, said Douglas Gardner, director of Portland's Health and Human Services Department. He said early reports of 17 pregnancies during the last four years were erroneous.
The King Middle School is among Portland's most diverse schools, with 31 languages spoken there and 28 percent of its students foreign-born. The school, located on the same peninsula as downtown Portland, draws from the islands in Casco Bay, wealthier neighborhoods overlooking the bay, and low-income triple deckers.
Fifty-four percent of the students are part of the federal free lunch program, which is an indicator of poverty.
Principal Michael McCarthy said the school had just one pregnancy last year, but students were reporting they were sexually active. The center has dispensed condoms since 2000, but because it could not prescribe birth-control pills, nurses referred the students to Planned Parenthood or Maine Medical Center.
“When they followed up, they found that in many cases, the kids weren't doing that,” McCarthy said.
The policy raises new legal concerns.
Sex with a nonspousal minor under 14 is considered gross sexual assault in Maine, and officials said it was unclear whether nurses at the health center would be required to report such activities.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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See all 406 Comments...at the age of ELEVEN!!!
Too young!
So, even if they are not too young to have s*e*x, I firmly believe they are too young to be raising kids - and I surely am NOT willing to raise them. Therefore, give them access to contraceptive services. My only fear is that they are too young and irresponsible to use contraceptives correctly.
1). Birth control pills should only be given by a licensed, professional physcian. There are factors determining the correct dosage, not to mention the high risk for cancer for prolonged use of them. 2). CHILDREN that age SHOULD NOT be having ***. They should be enjoying being children, not worrying about pregnancy and STD''s.
Who does this school district think it is? The parents? Parental rights are slowly being taken away and the government is taking over. I am so glad I do not have children in the school system of America today. It is deplorable and unsafe. Hopefully, the parents of community will band together and fight this. IT IS MORALLY WRONG!!!
Stay out of their back yard and fix your own fence.
I know what you are saying is true, but I am just having a hard time (thankfully) imagining that my 13 year old is sexually active. I have had all the important talks about waiting , blah, blah, blah and IF he thinks he is mature enough to have s*x then he better be mature enough to wear protection. These days, with all the diseases around, pregnancy is not the worse thing that can happen.
I agree that schools should be allowed to hand out condoms, but I disagree they should be able to give out birth control pills without parents knowing. There are too many side affects and if a child is afraid to tell their parents (or anyone else) they are taking the pill, they may not get proper treatment. I also wonder how many 11 %u2013 13 year old girls will SAY they are sexually active and get the pill just to be %u201Ccool%u201D.
Posted by resqdiver4
Unfortunately many parents don%u201Dt talk to their kids about s*x. And I am thinking a lot don%u201Dt think they need to talk to their Middle School child about it.
Stay out of their back yard and fix your own fence.
Posted by antoniof123
I plan to retire in Maine and I won''t be going to a social progressive state. And don''t blame the parents. Apparently parents are kept out of the loop and aren''t informed what is going on in the schools. The school administrators tell them now to tell their parents. Do you ever read what''s going on in Colorado schools and now in California''s schools with the passage of some of these bills promoted by that lesbo Sheila Kuhl? The parents in Maine should most definitely bombard their legislature threatening to remove their children from such schools should the state decide to dictate the morality of their children. People up there, you''ve got a computer go on line and get your State Senator and Reps. involved. I email the ********** in my district all the time. You''ve got to be more pro-active.
Dumb??? No they are 11 or 12 and don''t have the mental maturity that you or I might. Have you or your partners always wore condoms? I would wager no so if an adult can''t can you expect a child to?
I disagree with the birth control. Until the child is 18 I have the right/need to know what healthcare my child is getting. Parents need to have the hard talks and make known their befiefs. Hopefull the kids will follow and make good decisions.
Don''t tell me its Maine''s problem. We''re in this together.
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Posted by LadyJaneG at 09:29 AM : Oct 18, 2007
+ report abuse
Well one thing we KNOW is teaching them to keep their "Legs Closed" does NOT work... it ain''t natural and violates everything human. The days of fear and diception is gone as well. I think kids are going to experiment regardless of our best efforts... they are going to "Park" and things are going to go to far at times. It''s better to allow them access to Birth Control than it is to hide your head in the sand.
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Posted by skyk at 10:07 AM : Oct 18, 2007
Agreed, and that''s why I said FAILING the education, then teach them to keep their legs closed. Read my entire post before you get all hot and bothered, if you please.
Posted by skyk
Seems to me your head is already in the sand. Teaching kids about *** is not the schools responsibility. If we were so lax about internet porn, and soft porn on TV and rap porn, etc., our kids wouldn''t be all that hyped up to have ***. It''s what the culture is putting out there. It''s up to us to stomp on the ACLU and like minded groups who want to *** up our kids and dumb them down educationally.
Obviously parents should teach their own kids about sexx and morality. But, since parents are just ordinary people, they make mistakes, both by omission and just being wrong. Even with the best parenting, kids will, well, screwup, some more than others. Rather than doing some black or white / school or parent kneejerk reaction, this should be looked at as one more component of trying to save a kid''s future.
Would this program be cheaper than raising just one unplanned child? Two?
Then there''s this weirdness: "the ACLU ...want[s] to *** up our kids and dumb them down educationally"...? Just an ignorant lie.
By the way, my daughter has a classmate who is 2 years older than her in her grade. This young man started a year later than normal and stayed back in the 2nd grade.
As for those who scream that parents should take care of their children, I say they are all our children. If I see a child in trouble and do nothing, I''m just as culpable as the parents. We are all in this together folks.
I totally appreciate why the school system is doing this. I am grateful that for those kids who have lost their way and don''t have parents who are there, this school system has bravely offered them a place to turn. And when the kids ask for contraception, the school has the opportunity to counsel them. Thank God someone is willing to do this.
Posted by actornaught
Seems like you live an ignorant lie. Don''t get out much now do you?
Posted by likeitis5050
They''re now right up there with Colorado and California. Good job, Maine.
When parent act once way but teach another then what should your kid follow? As you do or As you Say?
If you are to have your kids grow up with a measure of morals then practice that at home in everything you do. This would go for Mom, Dad, Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, etc.
You cannot show loose morals then hope your kid does not follow your lead.
Posted by Hwy71So
Try to hold a Christmas pagent and watch the sparks fly with the ACLU, but condoms and contraception, good for the kids, good for the country. What people are failing to see is that the state and eventually the government is trying to take away parental control of children. Germany did it, China did it. These are not very good signs and omens. I all for the Second Amendment. Anyone advocating squashing the Second Amendment in my book is gonna be in deep trouble. Anyone silencing the First Amendment in my book will eventually be dead.
Posted by differnet
When you''ve got Britney Spears walking around exposing her privates and shows like Girls Gone Wild exposing themselves explicitly and numbnuts like Paris Hilton thrown at these kids day and night, what do you expect. We are drowning in soft porn, hard porn and even the judges up there are soft on pedophilia. Right next door in New Hampshire. Keep supporting Judges that take it upon themselves to legislate rather than follow the law, these are the kinds of cultural smut we expose our kids too.
However, i guess on the other side of the coin, i''d have to say i''m worried for the health of the kids. What studies have they done/cited that show no ill-health effects to children for taking birth control medication? it does affect the hormones.
And these kids are right in the middle of the age of pubescent growth.
I would have no problem with condoms being given out to those that think they are going to mess around, but i''d also hand out a pamphlet directly concentrating on the reasons why not to begin at an early age. So at least its there.
As for those ignorants spouting off about parents should be the only ones talking S-x education, youre in need of getting out in the world.
Up until the last couple decades or so, it was still completely Taboo to even discuss it with kids by most of the same Conservative liars that now stand against education.
Most parents didnt tell kids anything, or if they did it was full of rediculous metaphors and misinformation. You know where your conservative kids got their Se_ ed? at Catholic schools. Yeah, thats right. Catholic schools are a great place for your kids to learn about unwanted pregancy, myths about s_x, abuse, etc.
Did anybody out there bother to read the article? Its bad enough they are going to do it-its worse that they don''t even have to tell the parents.if my daughter was in that school I would pull her out ASAP.
Further, why should a school be allowed to make moral decisions over a parents right to decide what is best for their child.
Have we not learned anything from the issues about schools mandating problem children being required to take Ritalin???
***???
Especially all the Republican Politicians that keep showing us that its ok to Tell people you hate G_y S_x while you go do it in private like Sen. Craig, or that its ok to frequent prostitutes like Sen. Vitter and not admit to it until someone catches you, or to Take bribes like Representative Cunningham in the largest bribe case in history, or to Solicit Minors for homos_xual acts using the internet, while you are on the committe to toughen laws against Internet predators like Rep. Mark Foley, or maybe like the Reverend TEd Haggard the Leader of the Entire Evangelical Church that spoke out against Homos_xuality while he was visiting male prostitutes and buying illegal narcotics.
Wow! thanks to the Republicans for showing us their Moral highground to and to give us Wonderful Examples of how our Children should be and that they can always get away with it and land big paying jobs afterwards with their Republican allies whose palms they greased on the way in.
Thanks again Mudrose for bringing that up.
posted by ov442
Sounds like your parents didn''t tell you anything. Sounds like you also have a beef with Catholicism, as usual. Schools have no business handing out condoms or contraception to children. It sends the wrong message and the only thing they teach is if you get knocked up, get an abortion. Are you that stupid to assume that schools teach otherwise.
Try to hold a Christmas pagent and watch the sparks fly with the ACLU, but condoms and contraception, good for the kids, good for the country. What people are failing to see is that the state and eventually the government is trying to take away parental control of children. Germany did it, China did it. These are not very good signs and omens. I all for the Second Amendment. Anyone advocating squashing the Second Amendment in my book is gonna be in deep trouble. Anyone silencing the First Amendment in my book will eventually be dead.
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Tell me now, How do you suggest Parents start taking back their rights as parents?
Also do you practic what you what your kids to learn? When school teach just the opposite it is easy to understand how many kids go wrong. We turned them over to liberal teachers and elected moral liberals into Government.
Another Fairy Princess. I might have known. Let''s see what was that hint. Catholicism?
Did you people "read" the article yourselves?
You keep saying that someone else would have moral decisionmaking over the parent.
"Students treated at the centers must first get written parental permission, ..."
I''ll translate this for you.... this means that "Students treated at the centers MUST first get written parental permission."
The section stating what the state law is, does not matter. The School system''s rule is in place. Do you think any kids at the school will fight the rule openly? it would be contrary to the point, because then their parents would know.
Keep talkin. Your mere presence on these boards raises the entertainment factor, and lowers the collective IQ.
Also do you practice what you what your kids to learn? When school teach just the opposite it is easy to understand how many kids go wrong. We turned them over to liberal teachers and elected moral liberals into Government.
Posted by PapaBC
Start by talking to other parents. Start by talking to your State representatives. Start by taking a good look at what the schools are teaching and if you don''t like something start complaining. If you don''t get results, take your kids out of that school. If more parents started protesting with their feet, the schools wouldn''t be so powerful. Look at what''s happening in Califonria. Schools out there thanks to their legislators and that *** of a Governor are now propoganda mills. You don''t like what the schools are teaching speak out.
Keep talkin. Your mere presence on these boards raises the entertainment factor, and lowers the collective IQ.
Posted by ov442
Don''t bore us with my IQ is higher than yours. Why don''t you go on the Dr. Watson issue site and poor out your heart about how high an IQ you have. It''s rather moot.
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