"Middle Schoolers Get the Pill"

The question of whether or not middle school girls should be able to receive birth control pills and patches from the student health center is discussed in the article “Middle-Schoolers Get the Pill.”  The article supports this idea by saying that many of the girls are already sexually active and since there is no way of stopping them from making that decision then the situation can at least be improved by providing the girls with birth control and safe sex education. The Boston Globe sates that these young girls are not just being “handed” the pill but must “first travel a long-even arduous-road of counseling” in order to receive the pill. The girls are educated on the dangers of underage sex and urge them to wait until they are older and more mature. It is also stated that King Middle School has a high population of poor kids and immigrants. The school is now providing health services to lower class teenage girls who may not be able to afford private gynecologists.

The counter- argument presented in this article is that no eleven year-old should have sex at all. The argument challenges the argument that eleven year-olds should have the choice of sex and receive free birth control.  The girls are so young at this age to fully see the consequences that can occur in having underage-sex. It can be seen that everyone agrees that these girls are too young and should be urged to wait until they are older to have sex but also provides them with resources to avoid getting pregnant or a sexually transmitted disease.

One perspective I feel has been overlooked is the concern of the parents. The parents are left out through out the whole article. I think this is a major concern for many parents and something they should be involved in. The girls are still minors and the parents should be able to be involved in whether or not their daughters start taking the pill and should also have some influence in how they want to educate their daughters about underage-sex.