Poll: People Favor Birth Control In Public Schools
By Tom Miller. Posted on .
From The Associated Press Via The Houston Chronicle
By Alan Fram
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WASHINGTON — People decisively favor letting their public schools provide birth control to students, but they also voice misgivings that divide them along generational, income and racial lines, a poll showed.
Sixty-seven percent support giving contraceptives to students, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll. About as many — 62 percent — said they believe providing birth control reduces the number of teenage pregnancies.
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"Kids are kids," said Danielle Kessenger, 39, a mother of three young children from Jacksonville, Fla., who supports providing contraceptives to those who request them. "I was a teenager once and parents don't know everything, though we think we do."
Tango’s Take
This is in reaction to a school district in Maine allowing middle schools to provide birth control to their students. This is a tricky issue. No one wants teen pregnancies. And abstinence-only education seems like a stretch; everyone remembers time as teenagers. So, is the solution to teach about safe sex, provide prophos, and just try to convince them to hold off? We’re pretty sure that no one is going to come up with a suitable answer on this issue. You have (just) teach them well and let them lead the way. (You know,) show them all the beauty they possess inside. (And) give them a sense of pride.
