There have been a couple of new developments in the story of the Portland, Maine, School Committee’s allowing a middle school health clinic to hand out birth control pills to students without parental notification.
In response to public outrage over this scandal, the committee will consider allowing parents to consent to their children’s use of the health center’s services while opting out of the birth control program. At the same time, opponents of the birth control plan have begun a drive to recall committee members who voted for it.
Adults who do not have enough sense to see that it’s wrong to offer birth control medication to children 11 to 13 years old without their parents’ consent aren’t responsible enough to serve on an important public board such as a school committee.
And the Portland area’s district attorney has brought up another salient fact for these dim bulbs to ponder: It is against the law in Maine for anyone to have sex with a child under age 14. The health clinic has no say in the matter. So when a 13-year-old comes into the clinic and says she wants the Pill so she can have sex, clinic operators must report to law enforcement.
That’s sure to outrage those who believe that matters of “health” trump all other concerns. These are the same folks want to hand out free syringes to junkies because its “healthier” for them to shoot up with clean needles. The fact that it is a crime for someone to inject themselves with illegal drugs never enters their minds.
It’s a crime in Maine to have sex with someone under 14 — even if both parties to the sex are of the same age. Now, it’s not likely that a prosecutor would take to trial a case involving two 12-year-olds having sex. But that’s a law enforcement decision, not one for health clinic administrators.
We are a nation of laws, not health policies. If people don’t care for the fact that it’s against the law to have sex with 12 year olds, then try changing the law. (Good luck winning support for that effort!) But ignoring the law is not an option.
