Well we now are being told that there was no pact between the girls in a Gloucester Massachusetts school which had 4 times as many pregnancies this year as last. This story is being used by those who advocate contraception to be given out in schools as a prime example of what happens if the schools don't step in to give these girls (or guys) a means to prevent pregnancy. One of the girls who is pregnant appeared on Good Morning America this morning and said
"Well, I think that they sit there and they say that they want to make a difference and it's awful that all these kids are getting pregnant, but they don't want to do anything to help them. They won't put contraceptives in the nurse's office or anything and no kid wants to go into the store and buy them, or like, ask them mom to help them get birth control. Like, it's embarrassing. So, instead of, like, making them make the decision not to use any of them, they should be giving them out in the nurse's office so you can get it anonymously,"
This quote makes it seem like this girl had that problem doesn't it? Well earlier in the article she & her boyfriend admitted that she was on birth control and still got pregnant. "Lindsey was on birth control. She was very careful with it, you know, because, obviously, we, at 17 and 20, we're not ready for a kid."
So let's not jump to the conclusion that obviously these girls would have not gotten pregnant if free/anonymous birth control was available.
Here is what I don't get. The premise to NOT teaching abstinence is always "Teens will figure out a way to do what they want to do, regardless of what you tell them." If that is the case, then won't they be able to find birth control regardless?
YanıtlaSilI dunno. The whole idea of handing out birth control in schools never made sense to me. If you want them given out for free, in a safe way, at least have doctors do it.
I saw a film last year where a woman who had been the owner/administrator of an abortion/pregnancy clinic admitted that they intentionally gave out dosages of birth control that were to low to kids so that they would go have sex and get pregnant, and then come pay for an abortion. She said she knew that every school she went to and taught "safe sex" and gave out birth control at meant another X percent more business. Sickening.
YanıtlaSilI also find it interesting that at no point does the girl (or anyone there for that matter) think that maybe kids that young shouldn't have sex or that maybe sex outside of marriage isn't a good thing. Sex is fine, just don't get pregnant. Pregnancy is a consequence (and viewed by many as a good consequence) of sex!
It's also sad that they view pregnancy as a bad thing, and even as a punishment. What is this country teaching its kids?
this is what happens to a school system that is led by a morally ambiguous group... the Teachers Unions.
YanıtlaSilThis whole debacle is a great argument for student vouchers. We need to get kids out of public schools that are failing kids both morally and scholastically.
I'm not even sure how I feel about having condom's available at school. That might be OK. But Birth Control pills are "medicine". I don't want schools deciding what medicine is OK for our children without parents conscent. Even if we were talking about some thing less serious like Acne fighting pills, I still wouldn't want the schools handing them out.
YanıtlaSilat the risk of sounding horrible... in my experience (and maybe this is just me), condoms are really hard to use. if i were a 16 year old boy who's girlfriend just let me into her pants there is no way i would spend the time trying to get that stupid little thing on. so while i may have one, it would be of no use at the time it was meant for. so from my perspective it doesn't matter how many condoms you hand out, most boys aren't going to use them or they'll use them wrong, which is just as bad. people can argue for condoms in school all they want, but i seriously doubt the pregnancy rate will go down because of it.
YanıtlaSilThese girls WANTED to get pregnant. They were disappointed when their pregnancy tests (in school) came back negative and rejoiced and gave each other high-fives when they were positive. Having birth control available in the schools would not have made any difference in these 17 cases, no matter what your opinion of schools dispensing them.
YanıtlaSilI agree with Sean, that for the most part, the boys aren't going to use condoms unless the girls make them. Even the couple in the Good Morning America piece showed this attitude as the older boy left it up to his younger girlfriend to take care of the birth control.
YanıtlaSilShadowmom1- There are now conflicting reports about the "pact". I wouldn't be surprised if there was only a hint of truth in that original reporting.
Everyone, except Shadowmom, you are forgetting something.
YanıtlaSilThese girls *wanted* to get pregnant. If someone wants to get pregnant, they will. No amount of offering contraception will stop them, as they wont use it. No amount of preeching about the virtues of abstinance will stop them, as they will ignore it. This isn't an abstinance-vs-contraception issue at all - neither approach will stop girls who are deliberatly seeking pregnancy.