<p>“I take exception anytime the schools/government or whomever takes it upon themselves to replace the parents.”</p>
<p>These are young women whose parents abdicated a long time ago…I’d rather the government be able to step in and help instead of drug dealers, pimps, thieves and more irresponsible young teenage boys – all of whom are standing in the wings just waiting for these girls…</p>
<p>katliamom…The government already does step in for these young women. There are free clinics, funded by taxpayer dollars, where they can get counseling, birth control, pre-natal care, or an abortion depending on which path they choose. I don’t think the schools should have any role in condoning or condemning these girls’ decisions beyond educating, counseling, and immediate medical care should an emergency arise. As I asked earlier…where do you draw the line? Schools should not be in the business of being substitute parents. There are more than enough government entities that already provide those services.</p>
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<p>And that’s clearly not working well enough. So, we should just keep doing more of the same?</p>
<p>Schools are totally in the business of being substitute parents, like it or not. From the first grader who doesn’t know his or her colors and has never been read to, to the teen not receiving health care guidance at home. I’m all for the proactive step of being right there for these kids, in the school. Where hopefully a culture of working with the health care system can be instituted,with these at risk young women.</p>
<p>“Where would you draw the line?”</p>
<p>I’m a pragmatist. I draw lines based on needs and results. The folks working in the NYC schools see the kids have a need for more pregnancy prevention, and we’ll see if this program gets any results. If not, they should scrap it. If it does, they should expand it.</p>
<p>“And that’s clearly not working well enough. So, we should just keep doing more of the same?”</p>
<p>It’s working pretty well. Teenage pregnancy rate is at its all-time low across all ethnicities. It’s highest in states with abstinence-only policies. I think that says something about the effectiveness of all kinds of government-sponsored programs, including education and care. Which is why if experts see the need to give morning-after pills in schools - we should listen.</p>
<p>Welcome to big controling thing above us, created by our own hands? Why compain, listen and obey, no other choices presented!</p>
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<p>Exactly. [Why</a> Are New York’s Teen Pregnancy Rates So Much Lower Than Mississippi’s?](<a href=“http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/09/24/teen_pregnancy_and_sex_ed_just_another_way_to_measure_the_red_state_blue_state_divide_.html]Why”>Teen pregnancy and sex ed: just another way to measure the red state, blue state divide.)</p>
<p>Because the abortion rate is so much higher in NY?</p>
<p>[Abortion</a> Rate - Kaiser State Health Facts](<a href=“http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparemaptable.jsp?cat=10&ind=465]Abortion”>http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparemaptable.jsp?cat=10&ind=465)</p>
<p>You don’t need an abortion if you aren’t pregnant.</p>
<p>And if you’re a teenager, odds of you NOT getting pregnant is higher in places where there is education and help. We’re back to where we started.</p>
<p>The issue I have with this (as a NYC resident) is that there is no parental opt-out provision. Believe it or not, not every parent in NYC is a loser-deadbeat-neglecter who is unfit to parent her own children.</p>
<p>So their kid won’t need it: good for both parents and kiddo.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, katliamom? I don’t know what your post #33 means.</p>
<p>Are you implying that every young woman who gets pregnant in high school is necessarily from a screwed-up home? Really?</p>
<p>zoose, there is an opt-out I believe.</p>
<p>Not at all. Please re-read comments # 32 and #33.</p>
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<p>[Plan</a> B contraceptive pills now available at 13 New York City high schools | syracuse.com](<a href=“http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2012/09/plan_b_contraceptive_pills_now.html]Plan”>Plan B contraceptive pills now available at 13 New York City high schools - syracuse.com)</p>
<p>Nothing is working from above. Teenager will get preganant, they are not stupid, they know where babies are coming from. This type of “education” is not up to “above thing” to provide and freely spend taxpayers’ money on it. It can go indefinitely now as we do not know where to stop any more, I mean the “big controlling thing above” has no limits, while it was designed to be very very limited, and this whole discussion is a good proof of why it should be very limited. But now as we set it free out of any limits, we all are going to be very sorry and very soon too. Be careful what you wish for. Apparently not many were careful and very few realize where we are heading with this. But why complaints if we created the big controling thing above by our own hands. It is growing, be careful what you wish for…rolling over you…smashed you</p>
<p>“Why Are New York’s Teen Pregnancy Rates So Much Lower Than Mississippi’s?”</p>
<p>Seems to me that New York’s teen pregnancy rate isn’t much lower than Mississippi’s. Their rate of giving birth is much different. If you add the number of abortions (New York has the highest rate in the nation, lowest rate in Mississippi) to the number of live births, those numbers aren’t so different. I guess easily accessible birth control isn’t so effective after all, when so many girls are still having abortions.</p>
<p>Kind of bemuses me, the whole tone that the state of New York is so impressive preventing teen pregnancy with all their measures, superior to such a state as Mississippi…when really the main difference can be explained in the high number of abortions.</p>
<p>Now I’m pro choice and have no problem with schools passing out condoms, or even people going door to door, delivering them with the newspaper. Because many people are so unconcerned with their personal health, and naively thinking it can’t happen to them, that they won’t walk one block to make an effort. But it helps to be honest.</p>
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<p>I agree with this.</p>
<p>If we must talk about this in terms of tax dollars, certainly the use of the morning after pill costs less than the typical costs of an unplanned child born to a teenage mother.</p>