Protecting girls in Portland
OUTRAGE ERUPTED this week over a decision in Portland, Maine, to let girls at the King Middle School have access to a full range of birth control services through a school-based health center. Approved 7-2 by the Portland School Committee, the move sparked disturbing images of parents left in the dark while schools help girls as young as 11 engage in sexual intercourse.
But the stormy public outcry has obscured the facts. Portland isn't corrupting minors. Rather, officials are offering sound health services, including birth control pills, to teenagers who need them most.
The motive is to prevent pregnancy so girls can stay in school, says Amanda Rowe, the nurse coordinator of the Portland schools. The program is meant for 14- and 15-year-olds. Prepubescent girls won't be included. And parents do have to consent by signing a form allowing their children to be treated by the health center. That form would clearly say that the center offers birth control services.
Girls seeking birth control will first travel a long - even arduous - road of counseling. For example, Rowe says a student would likely speak first to a school nurse who would provide information about the physical impact of early sexual intercourse. The nurse would also help a student think about caring adults in her life to whom she could talk. And the nurse might offer to join the student in contacting those adults. The goal is to empower girls and help them understand that they have options.
If the girl still wants birth control, she would be referred to the health center, where she would get more counseling. In cases where sexual contact violates state law, authorities would be notified. Among Maine's statutes are bans on sex between minors and those who are three or more years older.
The new contraception policy is only meant to help a fraction of teenagers, those who lack the resources - including money and attentive parents - to get the health services they need outside of school. Rowe says that may be only 1 percent of students.
Portland isn't alone. Baltimore also has health centers in middle schools that distribute birth control. From 1992 to 2004, Baltimore saw a 40 percent drop in its birth rate for teen girls, according to Maryland statistics. Boston students cannot get birth control at their middle schools.
It's troubling that ads and television shows sell sex to teenagers. It's disappointing that more teenagers aren't so busy running track, saving the environment or playing the flute that they lack the time or interest for sex. And it's daunting for many parents to face the sexual facts of their children's lives.
But outrage is only a reaction, not a solution. Teenagers need access to caring adults and practical health services. Portland is right to offer both.
