Morning after pill made available to kids as young as 14, at schools

http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/09/24/new-york-city-schools-offering-morning-after-pills-to-students-as-young-as-14/


First off, the morning after pill doesn't KILL anything. There's nothing to KILL at that point. The egg isn't even fertilized! Please, educate yourself before you open your mouth. Let's have a quick educational lesson: the morning after pill works the same way as a regular birth control pill. It is actually just a higher dose of what's regularly called the "mini-pill" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progestogen-only_pill) which is used most often by breastfeeding mothers. It works by delaying ovulation and making it hard for the sperm to get to the egg to fertilize it. In the event that the egg does get fertilized this pill also makes the lining of the uterus hard for a fertilized egg to attach to, thus never resulting in an actual pregnancy.

So, now that you know how it works, you can now decide if you think it's OK for 14 year olds to have access to it.

As the mother of 4 children, 3 of whom are girls, the eldest of which is 12, I think this is most DEFINITELY a parental issue. Do I want the schools teaching my kids about sex? No way! There's the basic sex-ed talk in 5th grade and then health in 9th grade (although, it may be 8th now, it's been a LONG time since I've been in school, LOL). I can exempt my kids from those classes if I'd like. However, I don't want sex to be a scary word. I don't want it to be taboo. I want my kids to be able to come to me and ask questions, I want them to be responsible and understand there's more to sex than the actual act itself.

But, I also know that I am in the minority here as far as parents go. My husband and I actively talk to our children. Sex isn't some taboo subject that they're just told no about. I know chances are that my children will probably have sex before marriage. My goal is to make sure that WHEN they decide they are ready they have the information necessary to make intelligent decisions. Sex is to make babies, if you aren't even old enough to get a job, you shouldn't be having sex. If you aren't old enough to work full time, you shouldn't be having sex. If you don't plan to raise a baby WITH your partner, you shouldn't be having sex. Because let's be honest, condoms and birth control BOTH have failure rates that result in pregnancies.

Here's the deal. Most sexually active teens are doing it by choice. And I'd say more than half of those kids have parents that are probably not all that involved in their lives. Generally those parents either don't care if their kid is having sex or they prefer to think that their kid isn't. I call that "ostrich syndrome", the If-I-Don't-See-It-It's-Not-Happening style of parenting. So, when their kid ends up on 16 and pregnant its a HUGE shock to them. Think about this: if a kid is scared to tell their parents they're having sex do you think it's going to be ANY easier to tell their parents they're having sex AND pregnant? I think a fairly logical solution is to make birth control available to those teenagers already having sex.

Having access to birth control doesn't mean that your kid IS going to have sex, and removing any access to birth control doesn't mean your kid ISN'T going to have sex. The best option here is EDUCATION! Educate kids on sex. Don't just tell your kids no. Talk about the diseases that DO destroy lives. Untreated syphilis can KILL you, it can literally make you go crazy. How about AIDS? There's no cure. Look at a person's face and determine if they have AIDS, you can't. How about genital warts or herpes? Think those cold sores are yucky? Wait until you have some in your pants. For women, STDs are even more dangerous. Women don't have the same symptoms as men as infections in women are on the INSIDE of the body. So, it's easier for women to end up with lifelong consequences of STDs, infertility and even death in a worst case scenario.

Education is the answer here. But, what does along with education is being able to trust your child to make the right decisions. You can't control your child. Every choice they make is a decision THEY get to make. And as they get older they start making more and more decisions on their own. You can't walk around behind them telling them to make this decision or that one their entire lives. The best option you have is to give your child the information they need to make the best decision for them. If they think it's a good idea to have sex, they should at least be doing it responsibly with birth control and condoms.

Do I want my children, ANY of them, having sex as teenagers? No way, not a chance! And I will be doing my best to encourage them to wait. However, if they decide not to wait, I'd like to make sure that 1. They trust me, as their mother, enough to be honest with me, and 2. That they are being smart about it. And that means making sure they have access to birth control and condoms.