New York City Public Schools Offering ‘Morning-After Pill’: Are You For it or Against it?

What ever happened to parent consent for ANY medical treatment! Fine you choose my daughters meds... Cover all her healthcare,room and board in my home! GEESH

That is sending the really wrong message to our teenagers and medical issues are not a decision for any school to make. That should be up to the kids parents, the kids, and the doctor NOT the school.

Totally against it. It's not the school's (government's) authority to pass them out. or the taxpayer's responsibility to pay for. Aren't they a controlled substance that needs a script? By a Doctor? Bad enough people are too lazy to go to the county health department for their birth control (like I used to do until I could afford my own) School isn't the place. Parents have a right to know what their kids are up to until they're adults.

But the parents should be alerted. They ARE still the legal guardians (unless the student is 18) and have a right to know what their child is doing.

I'm all for the ability for anyone of the age to be having sex to be able to acquire birth control/Plan B/Morning After pills.

Putting them in schools is a bit too far, in my opinion.

That's most of the problem here in the U.S.

In the end, I'm for early-action birth control being available in pretty much any context, to anyone.

It SHOULD be paired with constant education and messaging about responsibility, of course.

If they were so responsible, they wouldn't need morning after pills. It's not the school's job. Where are the parents? Good grief, be involved with your kids.

Getting the pill, at least, is an act of responsibility...even if it's the result of irresponsibility.

I don't see how claiming it's the parent's job here negates the fact that the school should provide some back up.

Birth control is one thing...you can get that free at your local Health Department. The morning after pill is a little different...and should require parent's permission. Just like a minor getting an abortion should be done with parent's permission only. They are still minors and parents are still responsible for them or should be. This stuff is already widely distributed and taxpayers don't need yet another burden. And yes, it's the parents job to be involved enough with their kids to know what's going on. It's not the school's job. Their job is to teach them not be a medical dispensary.

The problem with getting permission is that, like with birth control, kids are likely to keep this stuff from their parents. Whether that's right or wrong is up for debate, but you will likely have kids who just don't do it because they don't want their parents to know.

Further, Plan B has a limited window of effectiveness...the time needed to get permission may render it useless.

As for this being different than standard birth control...that's true. But that doesn't make it at all similar to an abortion.

When I was 16 I got pregnant and had an abortion. I didn't tell my parents, but my mom watched the wastebasket and KNEW I was missing my periods. I had no choice. I still don't think she ever told my dad, but parents need to be involved. Plan B wasn't an option back then, but if it had been, I would have been to the county health department asap. Where I went for birth control after that horrible episode. If you let things be too easy, they will be. Can't kids take *any* responsibility for themselves?

Well...for the most part...they're kids.

True....I made a mistake too...

I"m not against the pill; I oppose the government assisting in the making of this personal decision.

If we as parents cannot even give our children aspirin without a prescription I find this absolutely disgusting.

Schools are there to teach. My job is to parent.

Amen, what's wrong with so many parents that they leave it up to the 'wonderful' school system...?

These hoodlums are going to get pregnant regardless of what the schools do. Might as well save us from overpopulation.. even though we're already there. We've been there for a long time now.

A few pills costs less than a few million new people.

Sad but probably true...

I hate to think that it's right but but the less bottom feeders the better.

However I'm a bit confused. Don't you need to be 18 and/or have asked a doctor about it?

Against it schools, you better believe it. They're asking for big trouble w/this one.

They have no business taking this on... it doesn't sound believable to me.
They can't even teach reading and writing!

Rather than giving them reason to be irresponsible (ooh, I can just get a pill from the school. No big) they should focus more on comprehensive education. The could still be an option, but it should be a backup as opposed to a main attack.

Personally against it. It makes your body all sickly. A lot of people throw up after it. I don't want to put that in my body. It's probably not near healthy if it has all the side effects I've heard it has. I won't ever need it granted, but the idea of putting that in my body isn't settling.

On whether or not I think other teens should have access to it at school. I say no, because of age restrictions. Teens 17 and younger have to get a prescription for it. They say it's because you can't buy nicotine until age 18 and they didn't want to risk any lawsuits. The drug company said they were being very careful not to let 17 year olds have it. That would suggest the school would only be allowed to give it to 18 year olds, most of whom can drive, walk, or hitch a ride to a pharmacy or clinic. Morning after pills are pretty cheap and some clinics offer them for free. I don't think we should put more responsibilities on the school nurses who are all busy trying to keep the whole school on the medicines they require, and take care of the injuries and sickness on campus. Besides at age 18 you have to fill out an entire page front and back for 1 bottle of psudafed, so why is a progestin pill an exception to the no drug tolerance policy.

Better safe than sorry. If they know how to get pregnant, then they know how to take the morning after pill. So I guess we should all encourage teens to shut off their sex drives and quit being human? Teens will be teens and while some won't even have a relationship, the majority will have some sort of sexual contact with at least one other. Abstinence is great and encouraging them to wait 'til they're married is too, but most teens WON'T do this. That's why having contraception and morning-after pills are nice precautions. Fiscal responsibility and career development go further than religious 'you're gonna burn in hell' lectures.

Your kid brings an aspirin to school and can be expelled but the school can dispense a medication like this without parent council. That is wrong.

Was thinking something similar. My niece got in trouble for having a cold tablet (not the kind that are regulated) that was still in the blister pack!

Any medication Script or OTC can get a child kicked out of school. The school system has gone nuts

For teenagers at school without parental involvement.

"Children often do not have the emotional maturity to take something like that without being conselling in my opinion and that is why I shoujld still be controlled through a center or the likes." but they do have all the emotional maturity to have sex, get pregnant and give birth.... yeah right.

Children often do not have the emotional maturity to take something like that without being conselling in my opinion and that is why I shoujld still be controlled through a center or the likes.

New York is more progressive, in tune with common sense needs. Teens cannot keep having babies they can't support. Romney talks pro-life, even wants to overturn Roe v Wade, then complains of those high percentages on welfare. Many of those high percentage welfare are teens with babies.

I don't like pills, because I keep thinking that they're like drugs to me.

The morning after pill isn't very safe and the school doesn't have the right to take the role of the parent.