Portland, Maine and its Safe Sex Initiative

Pupils at a city middle school will be able to get birth control pills and patches at their student health center after the local school board approved the proposal Wednesday evening. The Portland School Committee voted 5-2 for the measure.

Huffington Post has a piece on congratulating Portland, Maine for realizing what we all know.

"One in eight youth are sexually experienced, having engaged in intercourse, oral sex or both before the age of 14," the Journal of Adolescent Health reported in 2006. According to the Project Connect study, supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

"9 percent reported ever having sexual intercourse...and 8 percent ever had oral sex (active or receptive)."* "Of those who reported intercourse, 36 percent were age 11 or younger at first sex, 27 percent were 12, 28 percent were 13, and 9 percent were 14 or older."* "Alarmingly, 43 percent of sexually experienced participants reported multiple sex partners."

Note that more girls and boys had sex at age 11 than age 12, at age 13 than age 14. If this data doesn't convince you, here are a few more findings. These examples may not be about intercourse, but they illuminate the over-sexed landscape in which girls and boys are growing up today.

Some opposing the Portland decision argue that eleven-year-olds should not be given birth control without a parent's consent. It's a fuzzy line. Of course parents should be involved in their children's health care. Of course they should know whether or not their sons and daughters are having sex. It's easy to tell adults to talk with teens about sex, but it's another thing to actually do it. Other opponents cited religious and health objections.

It is certainly a risky decision. But, one that takes into the realities of the world we live in. Do we really want to go with Bush's abstinence policy? The writers at Huffington Post argue and I agree:

Providing birth control to sexually active middle schoolers is a crucial step. Condoms and the pill don't protect against STDs, but they will prevent girls from getting pregnant and lower the risk of transmitting many diseases. Providing counseling is just as critical. As we discovered, teenagers know about STDs and condoms. They've had sex ed. They're familiar with the Rolodex of ramifications, and younger girls and boys need to be, too. And what all of them need is education about the emotional consequences of their sexual behavior. Denying children are having sex does not make it go away. But, that seems to be the policy these days. Good for Portland, Maine.