I was in the middle of a fine candlelight dinner with my wife when the doorbell rang. So, I dismissed myself and went to the front door. When I opened it, there in front of me stood two lovely young girls, all of fourteen or fifteen years old.
"How may I help you?" I asked.
"Hi, we're selling candy so that our school can raise money to get condoms. What flavor mints would you like?"
My jaw dropped. Then I fainted, hitting my head on the wall. That was about the time I woke up from my dream...
Should schools provide contraceptives to students?
No, schools should not provide contraceptives to students because the primary responsibility of schools is education not contraception.
Here are five arguments as to why schools should NOT be allowed to supply contraceptives to students:
Schools are not medical institutions they are educational institutions.
If we attempt to justify the dissemination of contraceptives on the grounds that it will help prevent unwanted pregnancies and social disorder, then we would have to say that schools should also provide substance abuse medications to help prevent addiction, overdoses, and subsequent social disorder. Can you imagine schools distributing antibuse or methadone to students to prevent social disorder? No, because this is not the responsibility of schools. Once again, schools are not medical institutions they are educational institutions.
The fallacy of contraceptives as an alternative to abortion.
The argument that supplying contraceptives prevents abortion just does not make sense. If we applied this same logic to another scenario it would show the fallacy of this logic. For example, every year thousands of innocent children are gunned down in our schools. Well, if schools would only allow children to keep and bear arms to protect themselves then these needless deaths would not occur. Right? Wrong. We can all see that more weapons will ultimately lead to more deaths. The "Free" dissemination of contraceptives does not deter or prevent sexual activity. Like guns it only guarantees a false illusion of protection, when in fact it promotes the very activity it is intended to prevent.
Dissemination of contraceptives is a contradiction of the law.
The laws of most states stipulate that sexual activity between minors is a crime. This has been proven time and time again when a parent has pressed charges against a school aged child who has engaged in sexual activity with their child. If schools are to disseminate contraceptives to minors, that encourages "safe" sex, are they not then accessories to the crime? At the very least it sends a mixed message to our children. It is the equivalent of saying, Drugs are illegal, but if you're going to do them then here is a clean syringe. This is utterly ridiculous.
Dissemination of contraceptives usurps parental responsibility.
It is the responsibility of schools to provide an education to our children through information that will ultimately provide them with the knowledge and wisdom they need to function in society. It is not the school's responsibility to bathe, feed or clothe our children. Neither is it the responsibility of the schools to provide shelter or medical care. All of these responsibilities lay squarely upon the shoulders of the parents, both legally and morally. It is the parents' responsibility to instill morals and to provide an environment wherein the child feels comfortable to communicate their concerns, either for birth control or for food.
Who will flip the bill for dissemination of contraceptives in schools?
I find it absolutely ironic that in an age when our school children are sent like paupers door to door selling candy and cookies to raise funds for school supplies that our schools should mysteriously find the financial resources that will ultimately provide contraceptives. Or have they? Shall the schools next ask our children to go door to door asking people to buy mints so they can get contraceptives? Candy for kid's condoms anyone?
