Should high schools have condoms and other contraceptives made available to students?

They should buy their own like the rest of us.

Yes. I think it's a really good idea, and I'm pleased that it's become so popular.

If they are available in vending machines, they'd still be buying their own.

NO! We should be teaching the students abstinence, and perhaps go back to chaperoning.

Yes.

Yes because some kids are going to be sexually active at this age and younger. It's good to have protection available for those who are going to do this anyway. There are always going to be kids who do this and it's best to prevent pregnancy when a kid's not ready to have a kid.

YES! Abstinence-only education is the stupidest fudging idea that anyone ever came up with. Not providing condoms, at least, is negligent.

Absolutely not, it encourages teenage sex instead of teaching/promoting abstinence.

Well, it was always a rumor that that's what they did at the end of 9th grade family life. They don't.
But they always told us where you could get them.
So much different from my friend's school.

I've stopped believing that this can prompt a student to have sex earlier than he/she would have. There's too much other information and stuff available to them to think that his/her mind would be made up right there standing by the dispensing machine. That said, I'd rather have those who were active given proper advice about their choices along with the condom. Maybe a warning, like on the cigarette packages? "you may be too young to do this, be careful, babies don't want babies". . . or something.

Studies have consistently shown that abstinence-based programs simply do not work.

In today's world when sex is preached on TV, in the movies, in the music, the temptation is there smacking the students in the face. The only thing we can do is teach them abstinence, it is important...morally and spiritually. Sex can destroy a young person's life, through disease, lack of self esteem, and unwanted pregnancy. Sex is wonderful when right.

That's completely wrong, and it's been demonstrated to be wrong. Teaching abstinence doesn't work. You can say it as many times as you want, but reality does not support your belief. I agree that sex when someone is too young to handle it can hurt them a great deal. The only way to help with that is to teach them responsibility and to teach them about sex. Hiding it and telling them it's bad simply does not work, as has been borne out again and again in reality. Abstinence teaching is simply magical thinking and it serves no one well.

> The only thing we can do is teach them abstinence, it is important...morally
> and spiritually.

Teaching abstinence is not the only thing we can do. And it has been shown, repeatedly, that if you teach only abstinence, you will get more pregnant children than if you teach more. So you have a choice. You can teach abstinence only or you have have fewer teenage (and younger) pregnancies. Morally and spiritually, I have to choose fewer pregnancies. Yes, it is important.

Romkey, can you not see how far down this country has become?

I know some of the answers, but in today's climate, it wouldn't work.

No, the studies were done in the past few years. In today's climate it DOES work to reduce teen pregnancies if you teach kids about sex and birth control. You may think it shouldn't work, you may wish it didn't, but it does work. If you choose to teach kids only abstinence, you WILL get more pregnancies than if you teach them more than that. Therefore, if you teach abstinence only, you ARE choosing that more kids will be having babies.

Deflecting the conversation does not work. "How far down this country has become" has nothing to do with whether or not abstinence programs work. This country could be at rock bottom and it will not change whether abstinence programs work. You can repeat that they're the solution over and over again, and that does not change the fact that they simply are not effective. They do not work. It has been proven, over and over again, that they do not work. Trying to rely on them in order to help address problems is doing a huge disservice to the people you're trying to help.

Well, it would help to forbid the enticements. As adults, we can fight off the temptation, have some discipline. The young people haven't that control, BUT, with some spiritual training and forbidding the enticements, perhaps chaparoning, this out of control problem could be curtailed.

It is natural there will be sexual attractions, but people have to learn discipline, be on a higher moral plain. This has to be taught young. Remember, years ago when men talked of taking "cold showers", or train your thoughts away from temptation.

I think for those out of control teens, make the parents responsible. Make forced birth control their decision. If some teens don't have parents in control, and choose to get pregnant, they should HAVE to take birth control shots. The taxpayers should not have to pay for peoples bad behavior.

You ask yourself how did this problem get out of control? Break down of the family, sexual enticements being forced upon people by TV, movies, music and, the falling away from God's Word...bottom line.

Please see my comment to Dab. Stopping this out of control issue with children, will take work to turn around.

I wasn't trying to deflect the conversation. You have to treat the root of the problem, before it can be cured.

What has happened to the American people is they've allowed this to happen by being naive. The enemy has created a sort of religion of sex. Anything that feels good, do it attitude. What we can end up with is a society of children raised by children, and become burdens to society, because of their bad behavior.

> Well, it would help to forbid the enticements.

That one is hard to measure and, truthfully, I don't care. I see two choices, one leads to more teenage pregnancies, the other to fewer. I choose fewer. If you think the choice that leads to more pregnancies helps "forbid enticements" and that's more important to you than reducing teen pregnancies, then go ahead and make that choice but do it with your eyes wide open. Your choice means there will be more pregnancies by young girls who are unready to bear children and that will also mean more abortions. As I said, if that's your choice, so be it, just be aware that's what you advocate by your choice.

As for your other proposal, that teens who get pregnant be forced to have birth control shots, I think that's a little bit late. Isn't it better to educate the kid before they get pregnant and then not have them get pregnant at all?

Yes, educate the children on sex, and the consequences. I heard recently there was a group of young teen girls, their goal was to become pregnant. Many girls think, the baby will love me. They want to feel wanted. What does this tell you? The family has to be fixed. The enticements need to be banned. IN THE MEANTIME the girls are, who knowingly have sex, should be made to have birth control shots.

Oh also, I think the boys should be taught to be gentlemen enough, not to ask young girls for sex! Take a cold shower!

There ya go; birth control for girls who are having sex. We agree, at least on that point. And educate children on sex. We agree again. Glad to hear it. You seemed to be arguing otherwise for a while there.

I'm with you Dab on this issue. BUT, my point was, for the future, we need to, as a society, we have to address the CAUSES, to help changes things around. We can't just put a bandaid on this issue, and hope it will go away. We both know that sex is not going away, but for long term Dab, for the betterment of society we need to address the issues that are the cause of the problem.

It's not that I disagree that addressing causes is preferable to trying to patch things up after the fact, and we might even find a couple small points of agree on what the causes are so long as we stick to generalities, but since I think God is just an imaginary friend in the sky that some people find comfort believing in, I don't see any benefit to taking the discussion in that direction. I figure I'll stop with what little agreement we can find.

Ok Dab

My High School always had them available for the asking. I don't know of anyone I went to school with that ever had the stones to go get any from them though

Yes this offers protection to the sexually active

> NO! We should be teaching the students abstinence, and perhaps go
> back to chaperoning.

You know Jean this is a very new and different world than what you grew up in and what i grew up in , yes even back then in our generation we were sexually active as i think about this and condoms should be available for protection and because teens today are even more sexually active oh yea"
I do work with teenagers and yes many are getting pregnant lots of teen girls that i know and work with?

JessicaWoman, we all know sex is here to stay, and I believe girls should take birth control that are sexually active, BUT at the same time, be taught abstinence. We must get at the root of the problem. Check my answer to Dab.

> JessicaWoman, we all know sex is here to stay, and I believe girls
> should take birth control that are sexually active, BUT at the same
> time, be taught abstinence. We must get at the root of the problem.
> Check my answer to Dab.

Yes Jean they should be taught abstinence if this is possible and be taught in sex education ?

Well, we have to start somewhere Jessica.

No opinion.

> Well, we have to start somewhere Jessica.

Oh yes there just has to be a way for sure and start somewhere

No. Let the dad do that.

My initial feeling was no. And that's not to say contraceptives shouldn't be made available - but I think at the doctor's or a clinic - not at high school.