Condoms or Other Forms of Birth Control: Discussion of Sex and Being Sexually Active - Research Paper Example

 Introduction The reason I have chosen this subject is because as the parent of a ten year old daughter, who will be entering junior high in 2010, I want the right to raise my child as I see fit not as someone else tells me to. Having birth control in schools available to children at this age is wrong. I do not want my 11 year old to be any more curious about sex then she would naturally be at this age. I think that having condoms or other forms of birth control in schools is encouraging the discussion of sex and being sexually active. Should schools have the right to give birth control to our kids? I think schools should not have the option to take away the rights of parents. Parents have the right to choose how they want to raise their children. Going against a family’s morals and values, and giving our kids birth control is not beneficial to anyone but the politicians. Schools teach our children not to smoke, not to do drugs or drink, are we allowing schools to hand out cigarettes, drugs or booze to our kids or will the booze and cigarettes soon follow? Birth control is a drug and should only be administered by a physician. With side effects, is the school going to accept liability if a teen does not know their medical history and has a bad reaction, or will that be pushed back on the parents? Parents should have the largest impact physically, mentally and emotionally of their children. As parental rights come under fire from the federal judicial system which does not recognize these rights, it is adding further strain to the already strained child-parent relationship. I have found many views on the subject of birth control in our schools. There are always pros and cons to most controversial issues. The majority of opinions come from the parents, teens, and the public schools that. Are these particular parents, teenagers, or school administrators, who want to have birth control in school, experts? Who can honestly say a ten year old really knows the physical or mental repercussions of having a sexual relationship? Arguments against using birth control measures in schools “In today's schools, distributing birth control devices to teens in schools has been occurring and needs to be controlled” (Vale 1). I do not feel school authorities have the right to give out condoms or birth control of any form to teens attending the school without notifying the parents first. “Distributing birth control in schools to teens is wrong!” (Vale 1). I think that letting our children have birth control at their finger tips will only encourage them to have sex sooner than they may have due to the curiosity of having sex. Having the school promote sexual behavior by doling out birth control at will also go against family values, and beliefs. In my opinion, school officials should be more concerned with what is being taught in the classroom and not what goes on off the school grounds. That is the parent’s responsibility not the school, the principal, or any other education official. Another problem that will arise is more sexually transmitted diseases. Birth control does not protect against diseases unless a condom is used in addition to a female form of birth control. If the kids that are having sex, don’t know where or who their partner has been which could lead to an outbreak of a sexually transmitted disease. “According to research, condoms are not always full proof for keeping diseases from entering the human body during sexual intercourse” (Vale 1). For girls to have sex at a young age could bring about a number of issues with future reproduction. Some concerns are, low birth weight, premature births, death during childbirth, and difficult labor (Planned Parenthood). I know kids will do what the parents tell them not to, but it is still the parents responsibility to be sure their child is educated on how to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases, from getting pregnant, and how to handle the pressure of not having sex. In my opinion, the parents that are for birth control in schools need to look at themselves and ask why they would want a stranger medicating their child. Are the parents too busy, or just don’t care as long as someone is doing it so they don’t have to? This is a disgusting thought since those parents are not giving their child an advantage by being knowledgeable. How do these parents feel about raising their kids babies? Will they make their child drop out of school, probably not? My tax dollars are going to pay for a baby because the parents were not interested in being involved in what was going on in their lives. These teen mothers will usually have a life full of obstacles and struggles. How will they feed the child, how do I get formula or diapers! Not something an 11-14 year old should be worrying about. Now it is not all up to the girls, the boys need to take responsibility too. The “boys will be boys” theory that says it is natural for young males' to have sexual desires, but deny the same in young females is often how some families think and this is a double standard. Parents need to address the same issues to boys as they do to girls because it takes both parties to engage in sexually activity. So, what can we do to help our children learn and be educated on sex and its consequences? As parents we can try to convince our teens to not have sex and if they are having sex, using contraception is the smart way to go about it. We can also talk to our children and communicate with them about what is going on in their lives and/or relationships. Parents can explain to their kids about peer pressure and that it is ok to say no. Teach your children to respect themselves, their bodies and their beliefs (DiClemente et al., 171-179). What can we do to keep birth control out of our schools? According to, The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, The most effective programs for preventing unwanted pregnancies are clinic based interventions such as; literature, videos and low to no cost assistance. School linked clinics, where our children can go to learn more about abstinence and birth control, but they do not dispense birth control. Another option is peer intervention, which consists of other teenagers talking to your teen about birth control and family planning. This may be more comfortable for your teen and your teen can relate to someone their age (Lindberg et al., 38, 139-147). These services are offered confidentially, they tend to give your teen more time to talk to someone, educational trainings, free or low cost services, referral services, and a large range of services. To me, these options sound much better and the schools should try one of these instead of allowing birth control to be handed out in our schools. In doing my research, I checked into my states policies on distributing birth control in schools. North Carolina currently does not do this due to the new bill Healthy Youth Act which was enacted by North Carolina Governor, Bev Perdue. This bill states that parents can decide the type of education their children will receive in public school regarding the teaching of a comprehensive sexuality education. This law requires all NC public schools to offer abstinence-based, comprehensive sex education to 7th through 9th graders (Woolverton). Prior to the bill’s passage, NC public schools were only required to offer abstinence only education. "Ninety-percent of NC parents have said that they want NC schools to teach comprehensive sex education which includes information on STDs and contraception. The State of North Carolina has finally given parents that option," said Melissa Reed in response to the bill's passage (Planned Parenthood). Arguments in favour of giving birth control rights to schools “Students need a place where they can acquire honest information about sex and obtain the means to protect themselves against pregnancies” (Ring). Adolescent period is the most dangerous periods of a person’s life. The making or breaking of a person occurs during this period. It may not be possible for school children to take wise decisions because of their immaturity. The segregation between good and evil is quite impossible during this period and hence there is every chance that school student engage in sexual activities during their school days. The curiosity to learn more things and test it in real life situations is prominent among school children. The development of sex hormones and immaturity will force them to engage in sexual activities which may lead to unwanted pregnancies. Unwanted pregnancies and abortions during school days will destroy the mental health of the school children in future and it is impossible for them to lead a normal life after that. They will realize the consequences of the immature actions they did only after they became grown up. So schools should take the social responsibility of educating students about the sexual life and in order to prevent pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD). “Problems can arise when sexual partners do not ask about each other’s sexual health particularly STD’s. This is when things get out of hand because this is when teens feel and think that nothing bad can happen to them” (Ring) HIV/AIDS is one of the greatest threats as far as sexually transmitted diseases are concerned. Since so far no effective medicines were discovered against HIV/AIDS, this disease had killed millions of people all over the world irrespective of kids, children, youths or old people. The people who are the carriers of HIV/AIDS viruses will not disclose it to the public because of the dear of social expulsion. Moreover, nobody will engage in sexual activities with them because of fear. Such people will utilize immature school children for relaxing their sexual energies. Poor school children because of their uncontrolled desire for sexual pleasure may not enquire the previous histories of the person they contact for sexual relationship which will result in the transmission of HIV viruses to the school community as well. Even a single school student who has had sexual relationship with an HIV/AIDS carrier can transmit this disease to the entire school community unknowingly. So it is essential to make the school students aware of the dangers in engage in unsafe sexual relationships. “Numerous studies have shown that condoms, if used consistently and correctly, are highly effective at preventing HIV infection. Also there is no evidence that promoting condoms leads to increased sexual activity among young people. Therefore condoms should be made readily and consistently available to all those who need them” (How can HIV transmission be prevented?) Correct sex education is the base of preventing sex related problems in schools and in the society. It may not be possible for the parents to educate their children completely and correctly about what is sex and how the sexual energy should be controlled and used judiciously. Schools should have taken the responsibility of educating their students not only the academic topics but the topics needed to lead a healthy social and family life as well. It is possible that even if the schools and the family try hard, some people will break all the social and school norms and will engage in sexual activities. For such students, supply of birth control equipments like condoms is essential. So along with sex education school authorities must provide birth control equipments as well in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies and a possible abortion which can damage the health of the school children. It is obvious that a school student who has had pregnancy or abortion can complete his/her studies normally and to obtain a decent profession in their future. “Young teens’ consenting to pre-marital sex is very risky in terms of what the outcome could be. Sex is not just a game, it has its consequences. Having pre-marital sex can affect the social life of a teen. This could become someone’s life style and would not only affect the one who lives it, but also the people he or she is connected too” (Ring) School children often consider sex as another game among most of the other games they allowed to play with. They may not think much about the possible consequences, sexual relationship can cause either at present or in future because of their immaturity. Schools and families have a big role in shaping the future generation and it should be executed properly by these entities in order to save a future generation from the threats of immature sexual relationships. In all honesty, distributing birth control devices to teenagers can be helpful. “Teens will be teens, which mean some will have sex whether or not they have been told about the morals of waiting. So giving out a condom to decrease the chance of a teen girl getting pregnant is what society wants” (Ring) “Giving birth control to students should not be a moral issue of right or wrong. If a school gives birth control to students, the student still has the ultimate right to decide whether or not to take it, and whether or not to have” (Should schools give birth control to students?) Giving birth control to school children should be taken as the social responsibility, a school undertakes. The ultimate decision, whether to accept it or not should be allowed to be taken by the children and the parents. Since this issue is highly complicated and controversial, the parents should be allowed to take decisions upon their children’s future. But at the same time, same school may have many children whose parents may differ in their opinions about the above issue. For example, suppose the school authorities have allowed the parents to take decisions about whether their children allow, undergo birth control process in schools or not. Some children may ready to accept it while some others may reject it because of their parents’ differences in opinion about these topics. It is not possible for the school authorities to isolate children based on whether they have taken birth control or not. Thus schools may have two types of children; those who have taken the birth control measures and those who have not taken it. But it is quite possible that a student who has not taken the birth control measures may persuade or forces his friend who has taken birth control measures to engage in sexual activities by avoiding these control measures which will result in complete failure of the birth control program in that school. So it is not possible for a school to implement two contrasting policies in the school; Conclusion Birth control measures at school are a highly debated topic among the public because of the controversies associate with it. Some people strongly support such measures in schools while others strongly disapprove it because of the consequences it may create for the children in future. HIV/AIDS like sexually Transmitted Diseases are increasing day by day and safe sex is the only option in order to prevent it. It is not possible to distinguish a normal person from an HIV infected one by physical appearance or behaviour. Moreover some people may not aware that they are the carriers of HIV/AIDS. So while engage in sexual activities unknowingly they are transferring the viruses to the others. It is possible that children of known and unknown HIV patients or carriers studying in schools. These children also will have the HIV viruses which they may transmit to others through unsecure sexual activities. Unwanted pregnancies and abortion are other major consequences in the absence of birth control measures in schools. Nobody wants to be a father or mother at an early age and unsafe sexual activities in schools may destroy the career of a student because of unwanted pregnancies. At the same time birth control measures are making school children more aware of the sexual activities at an early immature age itself which may force the student to engage in sexual relationships which he/she may not otherwise do. They will think that the control measure implemented in the schools will be safe and there is no harm in having a sexual relationship with another because of it. But most of the birth control equipments like condoms and pills may not work always which may cause unexpected outcomes of the birth control programs in schools. Moreover, sex control pills may destroy the health of a child since his/her body may not have the strength to handle the side effects of these pills at an early age. Considering the pros and cons of implementing birth control measures in schools, I strongly believe that these measures should not be implemented in schools. I agree that these measures can prevent lot of unwanted problems in schools; but at the same time these birth control measures or equipments are forcing the students to have sexual relationship with the increased awareness they were getting through these equipments. It is a fact that some people may have more sexual energy which they will try to release in school compounds; but at the same time, these measures will encourage even ordinary and normal children to have sex with others which they may not do otherwise. I hope that I have described enough reasons for you to agree with me about not allowing birth control in our schools. The results of handing out birth control to our kids can have mental, physical and emotional consequences. It is not the decision of our education system to tell us, as parents, when we need to distribute birth control to our children. It seems like those that want to allow birth control in schools want to pass along their parental involvement in their child’s life, and this is not right. Teach your children the consequences of their actions and the way to stay protected if they choose to have a sexual relationship. It is not just pregnancy we are protecting against, it is their future. Works Cited 1. DiClemente, Ralph. "What Works." The National Campaign. 12 Sep. 2009. . 2. DiClemente, R., Wingood, G., Harrington, K, Lang, D., Davies, S., Hook, E., Oh, M., Crosby, R., Hertzberg, V., Gordon, A., Hardin, J., Parker, S., & Robillard, A., (2004). “Efficacy of an HIV prevention intervention for Afri¬can American adolescent girls: a randomized controlled trial”. Journal of the American Medical Association, 292(2), 171 – 179. 3. “How can HIV transmission be prevented?”. 27 September 2009. 4. Landmark sex-ed law for North Carolina" Planned Parenthood. 2009. 26 Aug. 2009. 5. Lindberg, L., Frost, J., Sten, C., & Dailard, C. (2006). “Provision of contraceptive and related services by publicly funded family planning clinics, 2003. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 38(3), 139 – 147. 6. Ring, Sara. The Edutopia Poll. 27 September 2009. 7. “Should Schools Give Birth Control to Students?”. 27 September 2009. 8. United States. Cong. House. Healthy Youth Act. General Assembly Cong., 2009 sess. Abstinence and Comprehensive Sex Education. Washington: GPO, 9. "Why Young Brides Should Delay Having Babies." Farm Radio International. Toronto. 1995. 13 Sep. 2009 . 10. Woolverton, Paul "Lawmakers approve comprehensive sex education bill." The Fayetteville Observer: 26 Jun. 2009. Read More