11 Year Olds To Get The Pill, At School, Without Parent's Permission

This is almost as bad as requiring kids to attend an assembly, and forcing them to sign a contract that they won't tell their parents about it.

Portland Press Herald:

Students who have parental permission to be treated at King Middle School's health center would be able to get birth control prescriptions under a proposal that the Portland School Committee will consider Wednesday.

Although students must have written parental permission to be treated at Portland's school-based health centers, state law allows them to seek confidential health care and to decide whether to inform their parents about the services they receive.

I'm sure many of you are as confused about this "health center" at schools as I am. We don't have that here in Nevada, or anywhere else I've attended school. It's not quite the school nurse, but more like a quick care medical facility.

The city's Division of Public Health, which made the birth- control proposal, operates seven health centers in Portland Public Schools in an effort to increase access to physical, dental and mental health care.

They are located at Portland High School, Deering High School, Casco Bay High School, King Middle School, West School special education program, and two elementary schools -- Reiche Community School and East End Community School.

The first centers opened in the high schools more than a decade ago, Belanger said.

There are 27 school-based health centers in Maine, 20 of which are funded and overseen by the state, including those in Portland, Birkhimer said.

There are more than 1,700 school-connected health centers in the United States.

So while many schools around the country don't even allow aspirin, this one writes prescriptions in between your annual physical, teeth cleaning, and mental health evaluation. I am interested to see the data on the prescriptions recommended for ADD in these "health centers" as compared to schools without them.