The Morning After Pills Given Out to Students in New York

Comments (7)

1. 

   nikia Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

   It's been proven that access to the services along with comprehensive sex education lowers teen pregnancy. Abstinence programs do not work, take Mississippi for example. Truth is, people have sex. We can't stop that, but we can give them the tools to make it safer. The access of birth control does not encourage sexual behavior because if that was the case, teen pregnancy would not happen when there is no access to it.
2. 

   Niambi Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

   I don't agree that abstinence programs do not work. I do believe they work if you emphasis the value of waiting until marriage. I did not grow up learning about that and I wish I would have known this and I probably would have waited until I got married. If you also teach young girls to value themselves at a young age they carry that through adulthood and are able to have better relationships. The issue with given children this pill is it is still teaching them it's okay to have sex and to just take a pill afterwards. This is putting a bandaid on the issue but not healing the wound that's being caused in our society. It's not getting to the underlying root cause as to why children have sex in the first place. For example, if we were able to find out if children are having sex due to peer pressure (which was also my reason) or even because they feel unloved or have low self esteem, perhaps schools could then introduce programs and support groups that help deal with the emotional and mental well being of young girls and even boys which I think would assist in lowering the rate of children having sex.
   • 

     Ronnie Tyler Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

     Niambi...you always leave the best comments. I watched a session by an abstinence educator and she said the same thing...we need to teach our teens the value of waiting. She said we were setting the bar too low for our teams. When we set the bar low and then we fall short of that...what do we have..a mess.
3. 

   Tarah Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

   When I was in NYC high school, it was a huge deal for the school to provide condoms. Now they want to give out pills. I don't think schools should want to be in that position. The morning after pill goes a step further than birth control. Many teenagers have sex, but I don't agree with this form of birth control for teens. There is no telling what effect it could have on young bodies. Stick with condoms - better to be protected from pregnancy AND disease.
4. 

   Lucy Pannell Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

   It sounds good to say that children need to be taught the value of waiting until marriage. I agree that passing out contraception and the morning after pill is simply putting a band aide on the deeper issue. But the fact of the matter is every child does not have a parent that is approachable for the teen to communicate openly about sex, the desire to have it, and the questions regarding it. Taking the issue a step further, every parent is not setting a good example for their children to mimic. Teen pregnancy has been an issue in this country for some time and many teens today are children born to teen parents themselves. Which means that the parents aren't necessarily equipped to teach their children what wasn't taught to them. The other side of the coin lies in absentee parents who don't share a connection with their children, ie teen fathers who are not a part of their children's lives. Absentee fathers contribute a great deal to teenage girl promiscuity. Another side of the coin is the parents who are in denial about the children they are raising and that their daughter or son is promiscuous. This is a societal problem that has many intricate layers. So hats off to the school that recognizes that they can not go into every home and undo the job of failed parenting, but what they can do is help the children who are having sex but would like to execute some level of responsibility for themselves and not bring a child into the world that they know they are not prepared to raise. The position of the school system seems to be, at least we can help a young girl make it to graduation. Also let's not loose sight that the option to opt out is not being exercised by very many parents either. Which implies that the teens are not comfortable discussing the topic with their parents or the parents are willing to allow their teens the options offered with out mandating that they be aware of their child's sexual activity. As the old saying goes ignorance is bliss....
5. 

   Lorri Tuesday - 25 / 09 / 2012 Reply

   I am surprised that only 2% of parents wanted to opt out. It's like we are giving up on expecting more from the kids. While I know no parent can control their child, plan b is an emergency pill, not a substitute for protection and that's what I'm concerned is missing. Kind of like the logic of young girls I've worked with who have told me, I don't like birth control because of chemicals, then two months later sitting in my office with a swollen stomach wishing they had chosen chemicals. Faulty thinking all around.

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1. Good or Bad; Philadelphia High Schools Install Condom Dispensers | Black and Married With Kids.com - A Positive Image of Marriage and Family - December 27, 2012

   [...] September, we learned at the pilot program at several New York public schools, in which they gave the morning after pill to students in schools with high teenage pregnancy rates. Now Philadelphia schools are taking [...]