Maine Advocate Defends School Pill Policy

Head Of Portland School Nurses Defends Birth Control For Middle-Schoolers Who Have Sex

(CBS/AP)  News reports of contraceptives provided to girls as young as 11 at King Middle School led to an uproar. Republicans launched an effort to recall members of the school board. And District Attorney Stephanie Anderson warned health professionals that they were illegally failing to report underage sex.

At the center of the debate is the coordinator of Portland school nurses, who happens to be the wife of Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe.

Amanda Rowe, an outspoken supporter for children's health and sex education, said she isn't paying attention to what the national news media or talk show hosts have to say about the Portland School Committee's decision.

The decision to make available birth control prescriptions to children whose parents allow them to visit the school clinic was the right one, she said.

"I am committed to this, and I will see it through," Rowe told the Portland Press Herald.

The Christian Civic League of Maine has questioned the silence of Attorney General Steven Rowe on the contraceptive issue. Fox TV commentator Bill O'Reilly said Maine's attorney general faces "a conflict of interest."

Rowe, 53, said she was prepared for controversy when an advisory board that reviews sex education programming in the Portland schools decided that birth control prescriptions should be made available at the middle school health clinic.

But she did not expect a national debate.

Nonetheless, she said the national controversy is irrelevant. "We are trying to do things for our own little community," she said.

Rowe attended the University of Maryland's Walter Reed Institute of Nursing on an Army scholarship and spent the years after graduation working as a pediatric nurse in the Army. She came to embrace the military's medicine. "It was a universal system," she said.

After returning to Maine, Rowe taught pediatric nursing at Westbrook College and earned a master's in education from the University of Southern Maine. She and her husband have four children. Their youngest is a college senior.

Rowe is a breast cancer survivor, and she said that helped to shape her beliefs. "We are on this Earth for a very short time and have only one chance to act on our convictions," said Rowe, whose health is fine today.

People who know her say she doesn't back down from her convictions.

Longtime friend Rosemarie DeAngelis, a South Portland city councilor, said Rowe earned her lifelong allegiance in 2002 when Rowe stood up for her in a dispute with the Maine Education Association, the state's largest teachers union.

Rowe and others crashed a closed-door suspension meeting between DeAngelis, a treasurer for the South Portland Teacher's Association, and state union officials in a dispute over DeAngelis' accounting of her chapter's dues money.

Rowe and two others were arrested for criminal trespass. The charges were later thrown out.

"I don't know many people who would go in and get themselves arrested on your behalf, and that is what Amanda did for me," DeAngelis said.

[michellem99-2009]

Dear yes child do...But there are are adults that have sexx wiht minors..teachers..That is not right..That is a story of a bus driver here sexually abusing a 4 year old. FYI. I was sexually abused as a minor in foster homes..I stand no babie.Who is going to raise them unwanted babies just cause they think it is cool to have sexx.. Yes they can continue their school..will the girls'' parents raise their grandbabies..dear I am 53..Their caretakers wont talk about this..They SAY oh we don''t talk it..Bull shiit. They need proper info Mum/Dad..They need to know if a baby is born to minors the party is over .baby first.. no friends ..Baby,,,they are demanding..If a girl is placed on birth control there is no reason she will take it daily..Some use a baby to trap a male..talk about the child support issues..Sure they have more info than I..Some have baby for state ade..Cover all bases..I never had children..I am an aunt..
I was tauguht and it was drove home daily than I was a teen age in foster home..They made clear they were not happy raising other people''s children..
It was *Barbara yer got no business having children ye can''t take care of,can''t give them a home and give them the basics..No business*.. Barbara is my birth name..

[bja8839]

MichelleM99 wrote- Use that brain and wake up..I would rather children not be forced to have sexx as they are too young..that pill is not the answer would ye like yer girl to get AIDES..I don''''t know about ye but I don''''t want it..I was taught sexx is for adults not children..A baby to a child is a dolly only it is alive..An adult has no business having sexx with minors..none.. That is jail bate..

( um last time i checked kids are having S E X with other kids!!!!! they arent being forced they are choosing to do so because they think it is the cool thing to do so they can be popular or so kids will like them it has nothing to do with adults have s e x with kids its kids having s e x all together@!!!!!! and if they are going to do it then i think they should be on the pill and guys should have condoms i mean isnt SAFE S-E-X BETTER THEN UNSAFE S-E-X WHAT ONE WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE? is the real ? that people should be thinking about not that oh its bad they shouldnt take it that young yeah well you know what they do and they should if they want to have s-e-x

[bja8839]

erasmus6
you are very right i say if you think your kid might be having s e x then you should take them to get checked out you know and if the doc says yeah it looks like she has then put them on the pill and guys no matter what EVER boy needs to have that talk about *** and i think every boy should be givin condoms at that age where they even start to LIKE girls that way they are ready if anything does happy its not only the girls who are having *** it does take two! and everyone just needs to stop and think about there kids safey i mean do you really want to be a grandparent at the age of like 32 lol

[bja8839]

MichelleM99 that was then this is now if you are about to have a baby and you are in school they have to let you finish and if that school wont they have a school just for girls that are about to have a kid so i mean there isnt anything stoping them from finishing school that should be the #1 thing they do before the kid is born that way when they get a chance they can get a job to take care of there little one! but kids now adays are VERY good at hinding what they do who they are with its our job as the parents to keep a close eye on them and check in on them when they dont think you will so you can see if they are telling you the truth.

[michellem99-2009]

It is the churchy that won''t bliveve that they do have sexx as they think the bible has all the answers as it does not..Years ago a child bearing a child was forced out of school..And if they got married with signed papers that child was not a bas***** child..I was in sp.ed all thur school..I saw a girl that was showing and it was odd she was allow to graduate..I have never heard of grammar schools girls having babies..I am 53.

[erasmus6]

"ok im 21 and my little sister just left middle school and you have NO CLUE HOW MANY OF THEM ARE HAVING ***" posted by bja8839

Actually there are alot of people that have NO CLUE.
SOME of us live in reality but others live in DENIAL.

[erasmus6]

"So SOME kids do talk to their parents--it is all in how they are raised and the relationship" posted by toldyouso21

Yes, SOME do. And SOME DON"T even though they have good relationships with their parents.

[michellem99-2009]

Use that brain and wake up..I would rather children not be forced to have sexx as they are too young..that pill is not the answer would ye like yer girl to get AIDES..I don''t know about ye but I don''t want it..I was taught sexx is for adults not children..A baby to a child is a dolly only it is alive..An adult has no business having sexx with minors..none.. That is jail bate..My mother was a child 16 is a child..18 is when they can sign a lease for an apt. They have no business laying with a minor ..A minor is from birth to 18..Paws off..I would not be surprised today..Check out the hip hop visauls..The skin..They have a birth control that last 5 years..Do they not..What about the boys a condom can break and it only takes one time and the girl has the baby..The boy walks..They need to address the male as he is the one that goes in to heat daily..I was a girl once..It was strong around preiod time..I hated them..

[bja8839]

ok im 21 and my little sister just left middle school and you have NO CLUE HOW MANY OF THEM ARE HAVING *** the pill would be a GREAT idea just have the parents sign a paper saying its ok for there child to be on it i mean what would you rather have a kid having *** in middle school and ending up having a baby or a kid in middle school being on the pill come on people use that brain god gave you and make the right choose

[michellem99-2009]

I WAS RAISED SEXX IS DIRTY...A foster mother told me I could come to her and talk about what ever..surprise..She turnt on me..I never went to her..I knew the gendars are different when I was sexually abused in foster homes..I did not want sexx forced on mt as they used my blindiness against me.. I did not learn about sexx ed..Foster ma was mormon..no sah yer .see my other posts here..The only thing I was taught by her was yer going to be fixed..She meant it..The state would not pandered to her wishes..What is wrong with tham churchy people..They are more blind than I, I don''t believe in sleeping with every Tom,*** and Harry..I don''t..Toldyouso21 yes sexx hurt as does the paps..I went thru thru the change at 37..Some blame the girl...sorry it is the boy that forces..Males no means no not yes..They have a problem with the word no..Oh yes..I was hunted by a man who was over sexxed when I lived in Portland Maine..I told him to get lost..He knew where I lived at the time as a blind woman was seeing him..I got 2 men fired as they would not keep their paws off me..there was sexual abuse the foster homes and at the blind centre,,I looked like a child due to C/P and they wanted to violate my person..It was a battle just keep them at bay..No body has the right to force sexx on another..

[toldyouso21]

For you parents that think that your kid isn''''t going to have s-e-x or that they will come to you if they decide to, you need to give your heads a shake.
Posted by erasmus6 at 03:26 PM : Oct 29, 2007

Actually, my daughter just came to me the other day and said that she''s thinking about having sexxx and wanted my advice in how it actually is done (if it hurts, how she should move, etc) funny, how most parents never teach their kids that--so there is a lot of inept *** going on.


My daughter will be 18 in a few months. she is proud of being a virgin but confided that after her 18th birthday, she may not remain one. We agreed that when she felt she was ready, we would be responsible enough to get the pill, and to have exams and to have potential partners checked out. The reason she waited? She felt she definitely was not yet ready emotionally and also most boys her age were not and she has too much respect for herself and her body to just let her body be used as sperm receptacle by anyone. So SOME kids do talk to their parents--it is all in how they are raised and the relationship--it helps if the parents are not hung up about sexxxx too. But if my kid had come to me at 12 or 13, we''d have had a nice long talk about the value of her body and the import of letting boys or men use her for practice or just to ''bust her cherry''.

[toldyouso21]

I did not notice her belly but saw she looked depressed, her mother was upset since she had just found out was pregnant, she was 5 months and the girl was only 12 yrs old. The mother and the father both could not figure how it happen and when, so are they now irresponsible parents.
Posted by patsy2007 at 02:47 PM : Oct 29, 2007

And what makes you think this 12 year old irresponsible girl, would have been responsible enough to take the pill even if provided for her? Did it ever occur to you that she would never even have gone to buy the pills--because then, she would have been afraid people knew she was "doing it". The fact is--many of the girls who get pregnant have access to the pill, but access and taking it when one is supposed to on a continual basis--is 2 very different things. This goes for grown women as well as teenage girls.

[michellem99-2009]

The people buy their clothes..I would not dress a girl in the gear they whine for..Parents are not their child''s friend..Mum used that term with me and shut her down cold. Yer not my friend so don''t go there..Yer a parent..So the school have to do WHAT ye failed to do,,Too busy keeping up with the Jones'',chasing guys, And ye as a parent throw a fit..Mum''s little angel is bearing a child..Where the hell yer been..Ye bring them in the world..The party ends ...

[michellem99-2009]

I say get yer head out of the bible..I am sorry that is part of the problem..Them houier than thou..
The girls dress like a street *** and they know they are turning a guy on..They know..If they dress s e x y and move just right that girl got him..He wants to get off.. men know what I mean..He fathers a child and he might face that music..Child support..He will pay it..That child first,,The hell with yer life.. Boys need to be taught as well.

[rick_vt]

There are today a couple segments of American society where proper *** education is not being taught relative to the realities we live in. There are within the poorer educated and the religious fundamentalists. One doesn''t know what to teach their kids, the other is in serious denial about the unfortunate reality of American society. Abstinance has been proven to be a total failure - this is simply a fact. A total lack of education likewise, doesn''t provide a child/teen with the tools to make the correct decisions. It is also a fact that middle school kids - like it or not - are experimenting sexually. We have a couple of legal cases of it currently in our legal system that happened within schools, not to mention the kids that are playing in the woods, inside the woodshed or behind the church that haven''t been caught. For a town or school board to identify and attempt to solve a problem that parents either are unable or unwilling to address, isn''t a reason to attack these people as they aren''t the problem but the brave few trying to if not solve it, are trying to reduce it''s unfortunately results. Problem is, I suspect many that are critical here likewise resist schools attempting to provide quality *** education as well.

[dmhphils]

If you CARE you make a point NOT to be distracted, you MAKE TIME, you get off your lazy butt and do what you need to do.


Posted by erasmus6 at 11:36 PM : Oct 29, 2007
------------------------------------------------

That is the kind of motivation I am talking about presenting to parents in the schools. Make them feel the guilt for not caring. Cause them to see that they are ultimately responsible and something needs to change. Birth control will just allow them to sweep their accountability under the rug and go on down the road, saying it was just a bump in the road, that''s all.

[michellem99-2009]

We have not touched of where does the girl goes when
1 parents/foster care can''t/won''t teach her the facts of life.
2 their chruch bars them teaching it perperly..
3 there is sexual abuse in the home.
4 there is sexual abuse at school,church..
she is crying for help and there is none..
Girls have s e x to **** their parents..
Their church too closed mouthed.
Parents give their little girl a baby like doll.
THEY have have their period and that is a message to breed..It is strong..How do they handle these new things their body is going thru.
They fill out young.. A girl look like an adult body wise but is a child brain wise..
There are girls that can pass for grown women.
Me cause of C/P
I was hauled off to school in the 80s cause I look so young..
Or some predotor taking pics of me..
I ask my sighted friend what the hell is that driver doing.. Hr aksed the man think ye a child..
God All Mighty I am 53..A CHILD NO WAY..

[dmhphils]

If you CARE you make a point NOT to be distracted, you MAKE TIME, you get off your lazy butt and do what you need to do.

Posted by erasmus6 at 11:36 PM : Oct 29, 2007
-------------------------------------------

Agreed!

[dmhphils]

Just because being a virgin puts a young person in the extreme minority these days doesn''t mean virginity should not be promoted in schools as opposed to or in connection with sxx education. Abstinance should be given higher priority in sxx ed classes regardless of whether it is laughed at.

[erasmus6]

"Lazy, ignorant, distracted, busy....I buy." posted by noseonurface

Lazy, ignorant, distracted, busy... all add up to not caring.

If you CARE you make a point NOT to be distracted, you MAKE TIME, you get off your lazy butt and do what you need to do.