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
I would take my child out of that school. PP is an organization I oppose. They do not have girls or womens best interests in mind. If my daughter needed bc we'd go to her dr.
I lost my virginity at 13.. My dad put me on Birth Control, I thought that was the best decision he ever made for me. When my girls have their periods, I plan on putting them on birth control, regardless if they are having sex or not, at least they will be protected against pregnancy if they choose too.
I think that if the parents are not involved in their kids lives at least someone is, especially in regards to sex, because I know when I was going through highschool a few girls in my class decided abortion was a great form of birth control and I do not want any young adult to think that.
So we can't have our kids carrying around a cough drop, because that's a "drug", but the school can give our kids birth control pills without our permission?
When did we stop becoming parents?
Mutts makes some excellent points. There is just too much that can go wrong if a child is given a prescription that her regular doctor does not know about.
Aside from that issue, there is the very real problem that many parents have with Planned Parenthood itself, and it's shameless promotion of abortions.
This is an overstep by the school, infringing on the rights of parents.
I don't have a single issue with birth control, and I absolutely advocate discussing it early and often with kids. I also believe that EVERY girl should be taught Natural Family Planning - not only to prevent pregnancy, but so she can learn about how her body works. But drugs like BC should be between a girl and her regular doctor, not some random health clinic worker who doesn't know her from Eve.
I would not be okay with one in my kids school. If your kids are raised right they know they can go to their parents. I for one would be very mad if my kids school gave my daughter birth control without my permission.
I am sooooo for this! My 17 yr old volunteers at Teen Council through PP, and is someone that her peers can go to for directional advice, condoms etc. We have more condoms in our house than any family should because so many kids don't feel comfortable talking to their parents abut contraception, so they can come to her. Please note though, she is advised to do this "at her discretion", it's not supposed to be a come one come all, sleep with who you like kinda thing. So many people we know are having unprotected sex because they are to embarrassed to talk to parents, or sadly the parents do not want to talk to the kids, or, even worse, don't believe their children are even having sex. Give kids access to contraception and decent sex education. My 5th and 6th graders just finished up sex ed at school last week and the videos were a joke. Even the teachers were upset at how bad they were, so outdated they even had typewriters on the tables.