Quantcast
John Burke

John Burke, Board Member
British ex-pat and Head of Technology Commerce at Google, John is thrilled to bring his 12 years of marketing and Internet expertise to the TeachersCount mission.

Birth Control for Middle Schoolers

New York, January 15, 2008—A middle school in Portland, Maine, recently made headlines when it decided to offer birth control pills (in addition to condoms) to students on a confidential basis.  In an informal online poll that ran from November, 2007, to January, 2008, visitors to TeachersCount.org were asked if middle schools should make birth control pills available to students.

A total of 422 respondents, 180 of whom described themselves as educators, participated in the poll.  Participants chose amongst the following possible responses:

  • “Yes, they should offer birth control pills on a confidential basis.”
  • “Yes, they should offer birth control pills, but parents should be notified.”
  • “No, they should not offer birth control pills, but condoms are OK.”
  • “No, they should not offer birth control pills or condoms.”
  • “I have mixed feelings.”

A total of 45.3% of respondents said that middle schools should not offer birth control pills or condoms, making this the most popular answer.  However, a solid 41.8% believed that middle schools should make some form of contraception available.  19% said that birth control pills should be offered on a confidential basis, while 14% said they should be offered with parental notification.  An additional 8.8% said that only condoms should be offered.

The remaining respondents (13%) said they had mixed feelings on the subject—a testament to the issue’s complexity.  In contrast to most other Be Counted polls, the differences between the responses of educators and non-educators were extremely minor.

The poll invited respondents to comment, and many of them did. Below is a sampling of comments arranged by response.

“No, they should not offer birth control pills or condoms.”—45.3%
  • “Let's stop making excuses for our youth such as ‘Well, they're gonna have sex anyway so we might as well give them protection.’  Let's start promoting abstinence, self-control and battling peer pressure.  Let's start raising the standards for youth instead of lowering them!”
  •  “This issue is between the children and their parents. Educators should not interfere.”
  • “If we give our children birth control pills or condoms we're telling them that it's OK...we might as well give them a private room with romantic music.”
“No, they should not offer birth control pills, but condoms are OK.”—8.8%
  • “Birth control pills should only be offered through a family doctor who is well aware of the health of the child, as such a prescription can have harsh effects.”
“Yes, they should offer birth control pills, but parents should be notified.”—14.0%
  • “If parents are involved, maybe students and parents will communicate with each other.  I hope that students will use this as an avenue to get help talking openly with their parents.  This may be a catalyst for a change in dialogue between them.”
“Yes, they should offer birth control pills on a confidential basis.”—19.0%
  • “Although I think middle school students are a little young, in this day in age it is better to be safe than sorry.”
  • “I think that any child receiving birth control pills should also receive counseling.  We need to know why they can't go to the parents and support them so they make the right decisions.”
“I have mixed feelings.”—13%
  • “Passing out contraceptives without any sort of education to go along with them is totally missing the mark.  It is important to have comprehensive sex education classes to empower young people to make sound choices.”