So, you think your kid's high school is progressive? Do they have a Planned Parenthood clinic right on campus? Didn't think so. But Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles does.
Not only that, but the health clinic, which is offered through a partnership between the school district and Planned Parenthood, has been in service for several years, legally providing kids with everything from birth control to physicals. And get this: complaints from parents are rare. RARE. It seems those parents have figured out the secret to all this teen sex stuff.
It's simple really: if your kid is sneaking off to a health clinic to get their birth control behind your back, you haven't done your job. Oh wait, let's back up and close that trap door before the troll sneaks in. Parents do not have to give their kids birth control. They don't have to approve of sexual activity in the teen years. They can even preach abstinence before marriage if that's their thing (I wouldn't advise it, but I'm parenting my kid, you parent yours).
But they do have to do something. You can't stick your fingers in your ears and sing la, la, la when your kids start approaching puberty and still consider it "parenting."
This is what always gets me about the parents who get all up in arms about kids having access to birth control and other reproductive services via their schools. If you've really talked to your child, and you've really instilled your family's particular belief system well, why are you worried? Your child won't be availing themselves of the services at Planned Parenthood or even dipping their hands in a condom jar in the school nurse's office.
The kids who are using health clinics like the one at Roosevelt High should be ones whose parents have made it clear that they NEED birth control if they're going to have sex. And thank goodness for that: because we've all seen on MTV that nothing good comes of teen parenting.
I would love to see a service like the one at Roosevelt at every school in the country. And all the rest of you could pitch a fit that there is a place that's giving your child contraception ... but all you're doing is revealing the fact that you haven't talked to your own child. And who wants to out themselves as a bad parent?
Would this kind of service fly in your community? What kind of access to birth control is there for kids in your neck of the woods?
Image via Daniel Oines/Flickr
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Comments 29
Something to think about also, although a select few parents nowadays have the willingness to instill values in their children regarding sex, many dont, and as a result a service like this is needed. Its just a shame we cant start changing parenting styles around to avoid a need for things like this.
I think kids having access to birth control and counseling services is a good thing. I have a daughter, I don't want her having sex in high school, or even before she's married, but guess what? Kids don't often do what you want them to, and I think the most important thing should be keeping them safe from diseases and unwanted pregnancies.
Not for the reason you might think though.
My kids' insurance does not require a parent to be present for an under-age child to get birth control. My children will know this. The office is 3 blocks from our house as well.
I will make sure they know that I PREFER them to wait, but if they don't, the need birthcontrol. They need it given to them by someone with access to their COMPLETE medical records. They will be told BC can have side effects, and that their dr office, covered by their medical insurance is the best place to go for it.
I will not have my kids being allowed to use products that might not be best for them. Children cannot sign consent to release medical records, therefore a school clinic would not have access to know if they have some pre-existing condition that would make certain kinds of BC a no-no.
Its a safety concern for my children, not a naivety that they will not consider sex.
Excellent points, the4mutts.
I would not have a problem with something like that being on campus, but I hope that my daughter and I will have very open and honest conversations about her body and (hopefully lack of, but then again, teenagers will be teenagers) sex life. I would rather go to her regular GYN who has her complete medical history than a clinic by herself and she would maybe forget something important to tell them.
Birth control pills also do more than prevent pregnancies, they help regulate periods and reduce cramps.
Okay. This article was good until I read that crap. Take your biased statements somewhere else, because MTV does not embody the whole of what it is to be a teen parent. They pick people for the type of people they are and their life situation to make good tv. Why did they pick Jenelle Evans? Her mom drama. And all the others are the same.
Guest your comment is freaking ridiculous. Planned Parenthood will help PREVENT unprotected sex. Pull your head out of your butt.