Emergency Contraception in High Schools

Parent Cafe
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We are in complete agreement about that.</p>

<p>I just think that the school, while an obvious choice, is a poor one. If you really believe that your community should have Plan B available to teens, without parental notification, then set up a private clinic in your town. There are Planned Parenthoods; there are free health clinics for people who cannot afford health care; and there are pharmacies.</p>

<p>Not to be sarcastic, but if students are finding time to have sex without their parents’ knowledge, they can find the time to mosey on over somewhere to get Plan B. </p>

<p>Schools can certainly play other roles - I already advocated giving a young woman a list of places that dispense Plan B. They could also, as part of freshman year health class, discuss the need to have a Plan B prescription from a PCP that is “on hand” in case of emergencies. Walking into your local CVS is a pretty innocuous event. </p>

<p>Y’all keep talking about the one-in-a-zillion cases in which the child is pregnant from incest, but ignore 1) the other issues surrounding that, and 2) the equally likely chance that the child will get hurt or sick from Plan B. Allergies are on the rise; there are side effects to the Pill; and it conflicts with certain medications. There are reasons that medication should only be dispensed by a physician who is familiar with the medical history of the patient. </p>

<p>If you are concerned about areas in which public transportation is minimal or the nearest clinic is too far away, fine - those school districts should decide, for themselves, with a vote of the parents. One town, one decision, made by the people whose lives will be affected. </p>

<p>There is little reason why a child who receives Plan B should not be required to notify her parents. Notification can come in the form of a phone call to the parents at the time; a phone call to the child’s PCP to ensure that it’s safe to take; or a slip that the child would take home and have her parents sign. (Either parent.) In cases of rape, incest, or the like, the nurse shouldn’t just give the kid Plan B and say that everything’s okay - that’s the typical modern mindset that if you don’t get pregnant, sex is fine - she should give the kid Plan B, then notify appropriate authorities and ensure that the child will continue to be safe. </p>

<p>The final issue, that no one has brought up, is that this is your tax dollars going to teenage contraception. Plan B, from what I understand, costs about $30 per dose. Obviously, if the parents don’t know about it, then the parents aren’t paying for it (often, schools will provide vaccinations or the like for a small fee). The kid probably isn’t going to cough up the money. </p>

<p>Yes, cheaper than a few days of welfare (hum, I guess adoption is always a bad idea?), but, ultimately, this is the taxpayers.</p>

<p>Whose kids are they anyway?</p>

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<p>Hereshoping, since you premise your feelings on what you call “religious” dimensions, the solution is obvious: if you want the school to support your religious values and view of parenting, send your child to a religious school. You are fortunate: there is no shortage of excellent Catholic high schools to choose from. </p>

<p>It is not fair to we non-Catholics for you to want the schools to enforce your religious view point. I don’t want my Jewish daughter denied benefits to which she is legally entitled from a public, government supported entity because other parents want the public school to adhere to their religious values. My religion defines girls as adults at the age of 12 (see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B’nai_Mitzvah"&gt;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B’nai_Mitzvah&lt;/a&gt; ) - so there is absolutely no religious reason at all why I should see it as my responsibility to make moral or ethical decisions for my teenage daughter. </p>

<p>(This is a hypothetical statement of course – my daughter is now over age 18 and even when she was younger, she could go to our Christian family doctor any time she chose to obtain birth control counseling or prescriptions in complete confidence, as I’ve posted above. As far as I know, public schools in California don’t have nurses – at least my kids have never attended a school that had one. I think the condoms were distributed at Gay-Straight Alliance meetings or else by the health teacher.) </p>

<p>But the point is, I don’t expect the public school to enforce or abide by my religion - they hold classes on our religious holidays and they serve pork in the school cafeteria and that’s fine with me. </p>

<p>I do expect the public schools to respect and follow state law. In California the law provides that minors have a right to birth control counseling and services without parental permission or notification. I don’t know what New York laws are on the subject, but I do know that if a school in California decided to dispense birth control and had a policy of notifying parents, or allowed some parents to request in advance that they would be notified, that the school would be violating the law. I guess since I am a lawyer, I happen to feel very strongly that my children’s legal rights should be protected – so I see the “moral” dimensions very differently than you. To my way of thinking, it is immoral for a public agency to disregard state law or Constitutional protections, though I usually don’t think about it in those terms. </p>

<p>I’m not trying to get you to change your moral, religious view. You are entitled to it. But if the law of your state says otherwise, then it is not the school that is treading on your rights as a parent, but you who are demanding that the school tread on the rights of others. If you end up choosing private school for your child because you want your religious values respected, you won’t be the first.</p>

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<p>I feel like for many districts- whether to offer birth control in the school health clinics is a moot point- because the health textbooks don’t address concerns of sexuality other than to say NO!
<a href=“http://www.texscience.org/health.php[/url]”>http://www.texscience.org/health.php&lt;/a&gt;

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<p>HIgh school is the last educational institution that many of our citizens will attend- don’t we owe them an opportunity to have correct updated information?
Their schools won’t offer Plan B because their schools aren’t even telling them that condoms can prevent pregnancy.</p>

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<p>Exhibit A: Morality in Texas. </p>

<p>Obviously the moral majority is doing a swell job of teaching abstinence.</p>

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<p>Oh, please. No one is asking you to enforce my Catholic viewpoint in the public schools. It is ridiculous that people are constantly making the claim that religious people are forcing their views on the public schools. We just want to be able to have a little say in areas that touch on traditional morality FOR OUR OWN KIDS. </p>

<p>It is equally disingenuous to say all kids from religious families can just go to other schools. Kids are <em>trapped</em> for the most part in their public schools. </p>

<p>Frankly, ladies, I don’t think you have much to worry about! The public school system is definitely on your side, as is the prevailing culture. Anyone with my viewpoint has to fight tooth and nail for it, which is why many are just opting out of the system, if they are in any way able to. However, most are not able to. So kids will continue to be captive audiences for your point of view! So you can sit back and relax!</p>

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<p>And the distain in the use of the phrase “moral majority” is very telling. I’m getting out of here before I get too “testy” :slight_smile: if I haven’t already!</p>

<p>And, by the way, there is definitely a “shortage of Catholic schools to choose from.” I don’t know if you’ve been keeping up with all the Catholic school closings of late.</p>

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A turn of the phrase, “America, love it or leave it” I suppose.</p>

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See bold caption above.</p>

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<p>*It is equally disingenuous to say all kids from religious families can just go to other schools. Kids are <em>trapped</em> for the most part in their public schools. *</p>

<p>I agree they pretty much are
and that is why it is so disturbing that kids aren’t being taught long division- how to edit or that there is contraception that is mostly effective.</p>

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My point of view happens to be the law of the state I live in. So the must be a lot of people who agree with me.</p>

<p>EK – California also has a law on the books as follows:

From what you say, I assume that we don’t buy any sex ed textbooks from Texas.</p>

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Huh? No denial of benefits, Calmom. Under a notification system, your daughter would, in NY (after all, as a lawyer, you should know better than to talk about California law when the question at issue is NY law), still have access to contraception. She would just have to tell you about it. </p>

<p>If you didn’t want to know, you could still take your daughter to a physician and have a prescription written out for Plan B, for her to use in emergencies. </p>

<p>You could give her the contact information of similarly-minded adults who would help her out if she needed a ride to the local pharmacy.</p>

<p>YOU have options if the school does not dispense birth control anonymously and on-demand. Parents who want to know what drugs are in their kids’ bodies have no such luxury.</p>

<p>I still like Emerald’s opt-in idea - at the beginning of the year, parents could decide if their kids would be “cleared” for Plan B without notification, consent, etc.</p>

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<p>california is 2nd biggest textbook purchaser after texas. ( or is Ca bigger?)
I don’t know what our school does- because of reqirements for health- but at the same time students are trying to get college prep classes in, they have been allowing students to take an online Health class at BYU.</p>

<p>My D still has to take health- I suppose she will also be taking it online- although I try and get her current complete information, Im not sure if BYU covers everything I think she should know</p>

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<p><a href=“http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/se/faq.asp[/url]”>http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/se/faq.asp&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>See faq # 15</p>

<p>Opt-in’s are very rare. I think Kansas is the only state which has it or is considering it regarding sex-ed.</p>

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<p>Hereshoping, I totally agree that most kids are trapped in public school. I have plenty of misgivings about public school, as you have read on other threads.</p>

<p>I don’t want my kids to be captive audiences either, but for different reasons than you…</p>

<p>Truth is, I suppose the bottom line is that if personal opinion/values/etc and public education don’t mesh, the parents have one of two choices: buck up, or get out. We chose the latter, and I would imagine that parents who are displeased with the immorality (or whatever you want to call it), of public schools, would do the same.</p>

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<p>opt ins are pretty rare
in the case of giving the military student personal info for example- you can opt out- but everyone is assumed to be available otherwise and some districts don’t really have that info easily available
But as I would hope- that all districts and schools receive updated contact/medical information for all their students at the beginning of every school year- that would be a perfect time to discuss what the role of the health clinic/ nurse is</p>

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As do I. It is a sensible, practical and focused way of dealing with a real-world conundrum, involving very little “social-engineering”.</p>

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The health and welfare of individuals should not be subject to the vagaries of whether or not someone has set up a private clinic or the existence (or not) and ease of access (or not) to clinics and pharmacies whose practices may be dependent upon community mores. Access to Planned Parenthood is <em>not</em> universal, nor among teens is even knowledge of same. As for pharmacies, we already have some individual pharmacists trumpeting their right not to dispense birth control pills; I can imagine the response of the same individuals to requests for Plan B.</p>

<p>All citizens have the right to a minimum standard of general welfare without respect to income, geography, or “community standards.”</p>

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In the words of Liza Doolittle, aw g’won. The issues are <em>knowing</em> about Plan B, knowing <em>where</em> to get Plan B, and being able to <em>get</em> Plan B…it does little good if the pharmacist gets his or her nose out of joint and declines to honor the prescription and/or makes a tattling phone call to the parents.<br>

I will fight that notion to the last ditch. Your rights and access should not depend upon whether you live in Colorado Springs or Berkeley,California, Salinas, Kansas or New York City, Hattiesburg, Mississippi or Chicago, Illinois.</p>

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As I’ve said before, I invite you to start wading through some of the case files for various social service agencies. You will find a depressing non-trivial number of families where parental notification is contraindicated.</p>

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Fine with me. My tax dollars also go to support many things that I don’t support. I can give you a lengthy list. Karma.</p>

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<p>Problem about opt-in’s: some districts do not even give parents notice of their <em>right</em> to opt-out!! Our district has even taken to breaking the law by not informing parents of upcoming sex ed classes/content. Fat chance most districts will do an opt-in. That’s why, for interested parents, it is so important not to rely on the district in good faith to give you notice of your rights. It is the parents’ responsibility to be educated about their state, and federal, laws. (For California, see above link I provided.)</p>

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<p>An interesting question: is ignorance a fundamental right? Probably yes. Is it a right to impose ignorance upon your children? Cf., fact-based sex education.</p>

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<p>Anent ignorance, </p>

<p>If you are a particularly big brother, is it a fundamental right to impose ignorance on parents, concerning their children; or to be ingnorant of your children, if you are a parent?</p>

<p>Sounds more like a wrong, but the brother is BIG.</p>

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<p>Wow, TheDad. That is an AMAZING assumption, and I’m getting pretty used to assumptions on this board! I do believe that one takes the cake though!</p>

<p>Big brother, indeed!</p>

<p>“…parents… have the ultimate responsibility for imparting values regarding human sexuality to their children.” (CDE - see above link.)</p>