Contraceptive Pill A Bad Thing?

So, the first story on the news tonight was about a `scandalous' school nurse secretly driving teenagers to the Doctors in order to get a prescription for the pill.

There was a mother interviewed, her child being one of the ones that had been driven to the doctor, and she said that it was a parent's right to know what medication their child is on. While I agree with that, I would be interested to see what she would have said if her child had contracted an STD after being turned away from the school nurse when she requested assistance. We'd be crying negligence then, too.

Let's be honest; kids are going to have sex. It's horrible, they're often too young and irresponsible, but they're going to do it anyway. How in the world is a fourteen year old seeking out the pill a bad thing? I think, aside from an incredible show of maturity on the child's part, that we should be celebrating the fact that she had enough brains to even ask for contraception. She could be the town bike and never give a second thought to her health, or the potential ramifications of her actions.

The mother interviewed would have screamed blue murder if her child had gotten pregnant, right? So, her child has significantly cut down the chance of that happening. Okay, the kid is still at risk for STDs, but if she's asking for the pill, she's probably already got it in her head that it takes more than a tablet to keep her completely safe.

My favourite quote of the story was; “To cut them (parents) out of the picture is quite dangerous.”

Uhm, what?

As I said, kids are going to have sex. And I think it's fair to say that they're probably not going to be running to tell mummy and daddy - particularly if they're below the legal age to do it. So, parents have already been cut out of the picture before contraception is even considered.

The other one was; “Research has shown that parent's are the best moral guide for their children.”

Well, congrats to the mother interviewed, because I think that the fact her child knew that she needed to ask for the pill is a good and moral choice. Her decision to engage in sexual activities might not be but, hey, maybe she just wanted to regulate her cycle? Or lessen cramps? Did anyone actually ask what she wanted it for? I doubt it.

Beyond that, though, there are a plethora of warehouses and clinics that specialize in helping underage teens get what they need. I'd rather see a kid in there asking for the pill as opposed to getting an ultrasound or the results of an HIV test. There are also a thousand and one websites out there that specialize in offering information about sex to teens. I'm fairly certain, without having done any kind of research, that they too preach the joys of safe sex.

I remember my own health classes. No one was naive enough to try and preach abstinence to us, but they made very certain that we all knew what we needed to do in order to be sexually active in a responsible way. The kid on the show obviously got the message and I say kudos to her.

Having said that, the thing about this particular article that gets my heckles up is that, whenever something like this comes up, people act shocked. Oh My Gosh, a fourteen year old is having sex! What do we do!?

Because it's never happened before, right?

Yeah.

Good luck to the kid, I say, and any others out there that have the brains to seek out things like this. Your health needs to come before the sensitivities of anyone - be it a parent, friend or society as a whole. Do what's right for you and your body, do it safely and maturely.

But try not to be the town bike - it's not attractive.