Middle School Makes Birth Control Available to Students

Birth control pills and other methods of contraception are going to be made available to 6th through 8th graders in Maine. While parents initially have to sign a consent form to allow their child to see the school doctors or nurse practitioner, the treatment they receive is confidential under state law. Students do not have to disclose to their parents what treatment they choose to receive. (See full story here: http://abcnews.go.com/US/WireStory?id=3743628&page=2 )

This is really frightening to me because of all the hormonal problems I've had with birth control, and I am 30 years old. People don't realize that a lot of women can't take hormonal birth control (which includes all versions: pills (both low and high dosess of hormones), patches, the nuva ring, etc.). All of these versions of birth control have caused me varying levels of anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, irritability, headaches, and insomnia. In addition, the use of birth control from a very young age has been linked by some doctors to difficulty in conceiving later in life, and to the development of potentially fatal blood clots. I believe that, while many middle school girls have the maturity to take the pill correctly MOST OF THE TIME, the fact is it only takes one missed pill to lessen the effectiveness and result in pregnancy. Couple these risks with the fact that these children may feel less concerned about using a condom to prevent STDs when they already know they won't get pregnant, and I think it's a very dangerous option for these kids to have. I do not disagree with making contraception available to anyone of any age who feels they need it, but birth control is a drug, and its effects on the maturing adolescent body are potentially life-altering. These girls need to be guided in using this with extreme vigilance on the part of the school health officials, and they must remain aware of changes in their mood and physical health at all times. Depression and anxiety are already difficult symptoms of puberty, and they may end up much worse when their hormone levels are altered by birth control. I think it's a much better choice to guide these kids in the use of condoms or other non-hormonal forms of birth control, rather than risk such serious side effects at such a young age.

There is a form of birth control being used by a growing number of women in this country that has not been approved yet by the FDA. It's called Centchroman, and is marketed under the name Saheli. It's available from international sites like AllDayChemist.com, and very inexpensively. I have been looking into it lately because I can't tolerate the side-effects of the hormonal kinds any longer. Centchroman works without these hormones. According the wikipedia entry, it works by causing "an asynchrony in the menstrual cycle between ovulation and the development of the uterine lining, although its exact mode of action is not well defined. In clinical trials, it caused ovulation to occur later than it normally would in some women (Singh 2001), but did not affect ovulation in the majority of women, while causing the lining of the uterus to build more slowly. It speeds the transport of any fertilized egg through the fallopian tubes more quickly than is normal (Singh 2001). Presumably, this combination of effects creates an environment such that if fertilization occurs, implantation will not be possible.[1]" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ormeloxifene)

Aside from Centchroman and condoms, there are a few other forms of birth control that are really very simple and don't require the constant regular schedule that pills do. There are many people out there that still use a diaphragm, spounge or cervical cap to prevent pregnancy, and these methods are not outdated. They are all fairly simple to use, and don't require you to remember a schedule every day or every week.

I believe it's much too risky to give these 6th-8th graders hormonal birth control. There are all these other options out there, none of which have any side effects. Even the Centchroman, while not fully tested for approval in this country, has attracted thousands of women as a viable alternative to hormones and their side-effects. I really hope that these young girls are getting a very detailed education on all their options, and not just being handed birth control when they ask for it. With the risks of potentially devastating side-effects and the increased chance of exposure to STDs, it's going to have a negative effect on many young girls.