Birth Control in Schools

Teens are getting pregnant at an earlier age every year and schools are passing out birth-control which is starting a whole new dilemma for parents and teachers.

Some junior high’s and high school’s are now offering condoms and other forms of birth control to their students which is causing a lot of different reactions form parents and teachers. Many parents feel that sexual education is still a large taboo and that only abstinence should be taught in schools. Others feel that it’s a load off of their minds now that schools are offering more detailed sexual information instead of them having to sit their children down and have “the talk”.

I was watching television one day (for legal reasons we’ll call this show Dr. X) and it was about this particular topic. I couldn’t tell you how many times I jumped up yelling and screaming at the screen, knowing that nobody could hear me. I was so angry that I wanted to change the channel, but I couldn’t. I made myself sit there, in all of my pent up rage, and watch Dr. X talk to his guests. There was one gentleman who gave abstinence only talks to high school students. This wouldn’t be so bad I guess if it was a once a year thing and he didn’t scare the wits out of all of the children. Seriously, there was a young lady that came on and told this guy that he was actually scaring the kids just like he had scared her. If I were in their shoes I’d be scared senseless too. I mean, he was saying that you could get STD’s from touching someone’s hand. Come on now… I think we all know better than that by now. Except for these children obviously because this nonsense is what they’re being taught.

Now I don’t want anyone thinking that I’m against abstinence because I’m not. I believe that you should be intimate with the one you love when you’re ready. Unfortunately though, sometimes that doesn’t happen. Sometimes it’s by choice, sometimes it’s because of rape, but girls are getting pregnant at a younger age every year and something has to be done about it. I have nothing against schools handing out condoms if the students are requesting them. If they’re going to have sex, they should at least be protected.

On Dr. X there was another guest, a lady that was speaking about teen pregnancy and whether there should be maternity leave allowed for the new mother’s. She said that they should get three weeks leave and then have to return to school. I’m sorry but when I had my son, I still could barely walk after three weeks. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have to return to school after three weeks when you’ve just had a child. Plus, it would take longer for a teen mother to heal, as her hips wouldn’t even be wide enough for the baby to pass through the birth canal properly. I’m still furious when I think about what this woman was saying.

In my opinion parents and teachers should be informing children about sex, STD’s, and forms of protection, including abstinence, condoms and the pill as well as all of the other products available and they should be shown how to use them properly. If parents and teachers could cooperate when it comes to this situation I’m sure that there would be a lot less teen mothers who lose out on a high school education because they’re not old enough to work and pay for childcare. Think about it….