The Hound's Tale
Counterpoint: Birth ControlTuesday, May 01, 2012 By Shelby Ramirez
A hot debate these days is about contraceptives, especially whether or not Obamacare can force employers to provide heath insurance to employees that covers the costs of birth control. Whenever anyone takes it down to the high school level though, the debates become even hotter. Should high schools be allowed to provide birth control and other forms of contraceptives? Should they be allowed to teach sexual education? The answer is no. Over the past couple decades teen pregnancy rates seem to have shot up, and people seem to think that the solution is the have schools distribute contraceptives. If schools start distributing contraceptives and teaching sex education, are they not only condoning such behavior, but enabling it? Not to mention the problems that ensue with trying to create a sex ed curriculum. Some kids mature faster than others and some are not ready to learn about “the birds and the bees” especially when one considers the fact that they are trying to teach these classes to elementary school children. Even if there was approval for a high school sex ed class, what would the curriculum consist of? Abstinence or prevention? What terms would the curriculum be able to include? What is offensive? What goes too far? Surely no one would be able to agree, especially not parents. Not to mention all of the religious groups that would be outraged by such a proposal. The school should not have to teach teenagers about such things, It is the parent’s job to rear the child. Parents know their children best, and they know what is appropriate to the child’s maturity and what is not, unlike a teacher. Not to say that “the talk” is not awkward because, well, it is, but they at least should not stop parents from educating children on such important matters, especially when the media over glorifies teen pregnancy with shows like Teen Mom. Not to say that teens should be babysat, but they are young and often times do not realize the full consequences of their actions. Sex is a very adult action and there are many other consequences, especially emotional, that should not be taken lightly. Teens can barely think an hour ahead, let alone days, weeks, and months down the road. They really need to think before being involved with anyone on such an intimate level. If the access to contraceptives becomes that much easier, then even less thought goes behind these actions and their possible consequences. Now, not to say that teens cannot be responsible and engage in sexual activites or that contraceptives in general are a bad thing. Some teens are mature and have put a lot of thought behind their actions, and contraceptives have many uses besides preventing pregnancy. Some people take contraceptives for medical reasons and hopefully do not take any particular offense to this article, The main point is simply that school’s should not have to be involved in such personal details of a student’s life, nor have to take the place of a student’s parents. |