OK, as I'm sure you've heard by now, or read by now- in Portland, Maine, girls who are just 11 years old can get birth control without their parents' consent. Shock horror.
As usual, the media has majorly over-sensationalized this snippet of news, simply because it involves young girls and sex. But, you know, at 12 years old, girls can get birth control pills without parental consent, so really what is one year?
I've been doing a lot of research lately on sexual behaviors amongst young girls, and I have come to the overwhelming conclusion, that whether we like it or not, girls are having sex - or oral sex, really young these days, so why not make sure that at least they don't get pregnant?
It's not like making birth control available is going to make these girls go out and have sex. There is no evidence to suggest that. At all.
In fact, I think, 11 years old is probably the perfect age to make birth control readily available to girls, because after all, this is the age at which they are being targeted for the HPV vaccine. Therefore, if they are going to be protected against an STD, shouldn't they also be targeted against getting pregnant?
Clearly, not every 11 year old girl is having sex ( a study by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, showed that 80 percent of middle school kids were not having sex), so it's not like there is suddenly going to be this massive rush to fill birth control prescriptions for this age group. But, some girls are getting pregnant at this age, so doesn't it make sense for at-risk girls to be able to go and get birth control without much hassle?
I wasn't having sex at 11 years old, but if I was, I know that I wouldn't have told my parents. I don't think I even told them when I kissed a boy, so I sure wouldn't have gone up and asked them if they could sign a form letting me go pick out a form of birth control. Who does that?!
The Lofton High School here in Gainesville frequently has middle school girls in their program, which works with girls who are pregnant, and the co-ordinator says that these girls really could be anyone - they are just like other teenagers who think they are bulletproof. Additionally, especially if these girls are going out with older guys, at 11 years old - really at any age, it is hard to stop in the middle of sex and be like 'hey, so where's your condom?' At least, if the girls were on birth control, they wouldn't get pregnant.
You might not personally agree with the decision to make birth control readily available to 11 year old girls, but is it really harming you for it to be available? I don't think so. Also, you have to remember this is just one decision by one school district in one state. It's not like it's going to affect the lives of every 11 year old girl in America.
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