By now, you've all heard about the pregnancy pact. And whether or not you believe it actually existed, the point is: some young girls are getting pregnant intentionally ... and even more are getting pregnant accidentally.
In my opinion, the real controversy to this story is not the fact that these girls want to be young mothers. I think maternal instincts kick in at puberty. I myself often fantasized as a teen about finding an infant on my doorstep and raising her while I went to school. Thankfully, my parents discouraged premarital friskiness and explained the challenges of being a young, unwed mother so I never got past the daydream phase.
What's the real Hot Topic for me is that some schools are giving out birth control or contraceptives without parental consent. And what really intrigues me (WARNING! WARNING! Plot twist ahead!) is that some people are against it. I mean, perhaps the school shouldn't personally distribute birth control and should refer students to a third party resource instead, but I just don't understand why people are so upset - to the point that the school nurse had to resign.
Personally, I don't believe that birth control and condoms make teenagers have sex. Sex is an act of passion for most; it's an act of rebellion for others - and sometimes it's just sheer stupidity. But whether or not the sex is going to be safe is usually not the deciding factor, I think. Not having safe sex, however, is the cause of many hard consequences, including disease and unplanned pregnancy.
I do believe in abstinence and practiced it myself. I do plan to teach my children moral, spiritual and practical reasons why it's the best choice before you're married - but I do not want them to have unsafe sex if they decide to do it anyway. (And I doubt they would bring me a permission slip if one was required, knowing how disappointed I would be.)
Sex education doesn't just happen at school; it also happens in the home. We've already discussed this, but I really believe that you have to do your best and trust your children to make good choices on their own. When they don't, you pray they won't face tragic consequences. And if someone besides myself helps them avoid those, I'm grateful.
Granted, it would be nice if someone would tell me if my child is having sex. The issue isn't just religious - I would want to address the emotional and physical consequences of such behavior and help them understand their decision from all sides. But I don't think most sexually active teens are telling their parents - and those who are probably can acquire birth control with their parents' help.
Please understand, I think schools should teach their students about the negative consequences of sex more than they advertise contraceptives. And I think the context of distribution should be appropriate - having a counselor meet with a student privately versus throwing them out at a prep rally or having a box of them at prom.
But I bet that most of you (and a large part of the country, obviously) disagree. Please, help me understand why.
Do you think that distributing birth control encourages sexual behavior?
Or is this just an issue of parental rights?
Share.
