Sense, not jokes, in Gloucester

NO ONE WANTS teenagers to go to parties and drink. But is the wise response making them drive home without the protection of seat belts? Similarly, we may not want teenagers to engage in sex, but it is foolish to expose them to pregnancy and disease by denying them access to contraception. The Gloucester School Committee made the right decision Wednesday when it voted to offer contraception through a school-based health clinic at Gloucester High.

Gloucester was lampooned and lambasted this spring when reports surfaced of a pregnancy "pact" among teenage girls as a possible explanation for a spike of 17 pregnancies at the high school. But the facts were more complicated. Gloucester's teen pregnancy rate is about even with the state average, and it has been declining.

Still, sober discussions about sexuality obviously aren't happening in enough homes - be it Gloucester or anywhere else. The schools need to bridge the gaps of embarrassment, ignorance, or illusion that leave young people unprepared to make responsible decisions about their behavior.

The Gloucester board decided to offer birth control pills along with condoms, a "bold and appropriate" move, according to Lauren Smith of the state Department of Public Health. Pregnancy is a greater health risk for young girls than oral contraceptives.

Families can opt out of the program, an important parental prerogative. But what is lost then is the one-on-one education that accompanies requests for birth control or other clinic services.

All high schools should teach comprehensive sex education, which includes abstinence as well as contraception for those who are sexually active. Until then, Gloucester has risen above the jokes to become a model for the state.