Maine Middle School Clinic Providing Contraception Used By One Girl, Officials Say

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 23 Apr 2008 - 9:00 PST

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Only one girl, who was 14, during the last six months has utilized a program at an independently operated health care center at King Middle School in Portland, Maine, that provides students in grades six through eight with a range of contraception and counseling for sexually transmitted infections, officials said recently, the AP/Google.com reports. The Portland School Committee in November 2007 voted 7-2 to approve a proposal that allows students at King Middle School to access prescription birth control at the clinic on campus (Sharp, AP/Google.com, 4/18).

Under the program, students are required to get permission from a parent or guardian before being treated at the center; however, services provided at the clinic are kept confidential in accordance with state law. Students also are required to undergo a physical exam by a nurse practitioner or physician at the center before receiving birth control prescriptions, Lisa Belanger, an administrator for Portland's student health centers, said (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 11/13/07). The city reported that as of Thursday, only one 14-year-old girl had used the program. "If it helps one student who otherwise might be in a position of being at risk, then it's worth it," Belanger said.

King is the only middle school in Maine that provides contraceptives at a school-based clinic. According to the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care, about 25% of school clinics in the U.S. provide some type of contraceptive, but most clinics that do are high schools. Divya Mohan, spokesperson for the organization, said only a small number of middle schools provide access to a full range of prescription contraceptives. She added that school health clinics usually tailor their services in response to the needs of a community.

King Principal Michael McCarthy said that local parents have remained supportive of the program and that the number of students with permission to use the clinic has not changed significantly. Ellen Popenoe, a psychologist who has a daughter attending the school, said, "I think most young teenagers who have a close relationship with their parents are talking to their parents about" sex-related issues. She added that the clinic provides a safety net for students who cannot discuss the issues with their parents. Michael Heath of the Christian Civic League of Maine said that he believes schools should not provide contraception to minors "under any circumstances" (AP/Google.com, 4/18).

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