*Birth control for 11 year olds?

Below is a blog from "http://momblog.gainesville.com/default.asp?item=689868" and this is a mothers prospective on this issue. I do not agree with the schools move to give students as young as 11 birth control! For so many reasons! A child at the age of 11 should not be worried about if they will get pregnant...and if they are...then i think the school has other issues to worry about before they start handing out birth control! Also, the health issues that could result in a childs life if they started birth control at 11 and continued until marriage...this could be 10 years in most cases...this could cause a child to not be able to become pregnant when they finally want to....those are two of my main reasons....now lets hear from a mothers side:


"Birth control for 11 year olds?








Okay, how can we not discuss this one?

School officials at King Middle School in Portland, Maine, have passed a policy that will allow children as young as 11 to obtain birth-control pills at a middle-school health center without their parents knowing about it, according to a report by the Associated Press.

Parents are required to sign a waiver allowing their children to receive medical care at the school. However, now that medical care -- in the area of birth control -- is kept secret from the parents.

The school defended its decision by saying that the new policy is aimed at a tiny number of sexually active students. It also said that birth control would be given out only after extensive counseling, and no prepubescent children would get it.

The school will become the first middle school in Maine, and apparently one of only a few in the nation, to make available a full range of contraception, including birth-control pills and the patch.

I understand what this school is trying to do -- they are trying to protect sexually active children, who maybe cannot talk to their parents, from getting pregnant. But I think they are missing it. So, here are the big issues I have with this:

1. Birth Control is a medication: Like all medications, there are a slew of side effects that the pill can cause, not to mention the danger of drug interactions. If a kid who is on another medication takes the pill, there could be severe consequences.

2. STDs: I think that simply handing out the pill could give a young girl a false sense of protection. While she may not get pregnant (assuming that she could responsibly take a daily pill that most adults even forget,) what about the risk for STDs?

3. Parents' right to know: This is a big one for me, as a mom. So, you are telling me that you -- the school -- could give my child prescribed medication and I am not allowed to know about it? The thought of that simply makes my blood boil. In trying to protect a small number of students, you are trampling over my rights as a parent.

Okay, so let's hear it. I know there are people on both sides of the fence. Honestly, how do you feel about this? Parents across the country are furious, especially in Portland, Maine. If it were your kid's school, what would you do?"

Go ahead and tackle her questions here!