Should High Schools Offer Free STD and Pregnancy Tests For Students?

jstavixxxen
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 12:07 pm: [report]

They are pioneers! I work at a high school for pregnant and teen girls and we give these tests everyday, for free and without parental consent, I feel if the girls wanna play big girl games, which they are, then treat them as big girls.
For the girls who don’t get preggers, or have an STD, we use this as an opportunity to teach them, and reach them, they are much more inclined to listen when they are in a room with us and dealing with the news they wanted to hear.

skywalk
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 12:09 pm: [report]

I agree 100% this is a life or death subject and I can’t believe in this day and age there is still always a huge uproar everytime a school trys to save our children’s future and/or life.

tabby
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 12:10 pm: [report]

This is great! While it may be easy to go to the store and buy a pregnancy test (or steal it, for those too embarrassed), most teens don’t get tested for STDs because they are too freaked out to either tell their doctor or that their parents will read the insurance statement. Wouldn’t we rather have safe teens than unsafe ones?

*sam*
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 12:11 pm: [report]

I think it’s a GREAT policy! I took a human sexuality class in college, and it was simply amazing to see how many of my classmates were so ignorant about sex. I think this program will provide an opportunity for adolescents who are obviously already engaging in sex, to be more informed, and have a safe place to confide in. Worrying about whether or not it is going to send the message that unsafe sex is OK and tolerated, is ignorant, IMO. If nothing else, it is showing these kids that there *are* ways to protect yourself and get help when your family may not be your best option.

However, I also believe that if this school is going to offer free testing, they should also be sure to incorporate contraceptive-focused sex-ed classes, as well as offer free condoms. Not to mention, information a/b pregnancy & STDs to anyone that comes in for testing. Be progressive on the testing front, should also mean being progressive in education and preventative measures as well.

Coral
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 12:14 pm: [report]

I think this is great. I recently graduated from high school but I would have loved it (and I’m sure my classmates) if such tests went on at my high school. More options and more knowledge, in my opinion, creates better, more informed decisions.

Coral
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 12:16 pm: [report]

@tabby: Plus, pregnancy tests are expensive—they are around $14 or so.

Ginger
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 12:31 pm: [report]

This is so amazing it makes me want to cry.
I went to a high school that had a decent number of pregnant girls every year (and that was with a decent sex ed class. If we had had an abstinence only education I shudder to think how many more girls would have had children) and an even higher number of girls in the bathroom and locker rooms talking about pregnancy and STD scares.

It would be great if students had a place to go (other than Planned Parenthood. It’s great, but it was also kind of out of the way in my hometown so a lot of teenagers had trouble sneaking out/getting to it for tests and contraceptives) that would offer these services.

Also, as Coral said, pregnancy tests can get a little expensive for some people.

thegr8brownie
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 01:00 pm: [report]

NO! They shouldn’t provide STD and Preg Tests. Are you kidding. School giving them = Government Funding Giving Them = Tax Payers Giving Them = ME Giving Them. And guess what, I didn’t #&@$% em, and I don’t plan to. So why should I buy them a freakin’ test?
If they want to be big girls, and play big girl games, they can get a big girl job and buy their own big girl tests.
If they want to be little girls and have unprotected, promiscuous sex with multiple partners who are dirty or don’t have condoms, then thats their problem.
People need to learn to deal with their problems instead of looking to create some government funded program to help them with it.

ahw
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 01:04 pm: [report]

Yes!  Pioneers!  It’s about time high schools started accepting that their students are having sex.

*sam*
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 01:05 pm: [report]

thegr8brownie: what a/b cases of rape or incest?? and before you go off a/b how they could just tell their parents, that’s not always true. some girls would would just feel more comfortable going to a school official. and while yes, they can currently go to the health department, that still entails a way for them to get there—which isn’t always possible.

PinkRanger
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 01:12 pm: [report]

More than anything it’s just important to me that highschool students have options. When I was in highschool, we didn’t know about ways to get tested for STDs without our parents finding out, and were terrified to buy pregnancy tests to the point of paying people to buy them for us. It’s all well and good to say “well, they should take responsibility” but teenagers are a totally different creature caught in an awkward chasm between childhood and adulthood, and honestly, most of them just don’t know how to be responsible! In a world of “abstinence only education”, it only makes things harder.

I say go for it!

And tons of my tax money funds programs that have nothing to do with me, but paying taxes is about patriotism and aiding the greater good in our country, and this is one thing I don’t mind paying for!

ahw
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 01:16 pm: [report]

@thegr8brownie I’d rather the schools give them support, maybe even condoms, and let them know when they need an abortion rather than the baby being born -> unwed young mother -> often kicked out of home -> welfare (my tax dollars and yours too, costing one hell of a lot more than a damn pregnancy test).

If you’re going to use the money argument, think first.  Please.

thegr8brownie
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 01:25 pm: [report]

@AHW
someone here brought up that same point, but me buying them a test does not changer weather or not I pay for their welfare. Lets say I pay the $20 for the test, if its negative, im out $20, if its positive, im still out the $20, and the welfare. I did think about it.
@*sam*
rape and incest is different. and there are already services set up for that.

I am tired of this “embrace sexuality” movement. I want to start a “embrace responsibility” movement. I miss the days where someone was dishonored for becoming preggers at that age, or they married the guy who knocked them up. They didn’t put it off, they didn’t hide it, they embraced it.
Yes, please embrace your sexuality. But do it when you are old enough to understand the risks, and old enough to be able to take responsibility for the outcomes. Physical and emotional.

ahw
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 01:30 pm: [report]

@thegr8brownie I think this is going towards an “embrace responsibility” movement.  I’d really like condoms to be availible in schools without parental consent, in particular.  However, I think that allowing pregnancy and STD tests will alert students earlier to any issues they may have (that I will be paying for in the future) and it will also alert students to the idea that it is *possible* to take responsibility of their sexuality which will, yes, cost us less in the long run.

*sam*
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 01:33 pm: [report]

thegr8brownie: i know there are already services set up for that, but i was bringing it up b/c you were complaining a/b having to pay for them.

that aside, yes, there should be a bigger discussion a/b responsibility. but the current state of affairs isn’t changing that. if you just tell them that ‘oh well, that sucks for you. i guess you better figure it out for yourself since you were obviously capable of figuring out how to get yourself into this mess” isn’t going to solve anything. and dishonoring someone for their mistakes has never helped either. if someone is publicly shamed for their mistakes, then what is the likelihood that they are going to want to discuss their options with anyone? you can’t tell a group of kids that if they think they’re old enough to have sex then they’re old enough to deal with the consequences without giving them viable options to do so while subsequently shaming them for making those decisions. adolescence is confusing enough without sending mixed messages.

PinkRanger
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 01:34 pm: [report]

@thegr8brownie: Yes, the good old days when a young girl was shamed and expelled for her pregnancy, while the father got the advantages of being an invisible dad who was still allowed to finish school, or the other option where they got married at 16, hated and resented each other and their child for the rest of their lives.
Oh nostalgia….the sweet memories of sexism.

sportzriter13
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 02:00 pm: [report]

@ahw-I’m for education, and as pro choice as the next person, but telling the teen to just get an abortion so they stay in school??? That’s a decision for the teen and their partner/parent(s) to make, not the school. Give them the resources (condoms, comprehensive sex ed, referrals to planned parenthood) to make their own decision.

@thegr8brownie-Bravo! this culture of promoting teen pregnancy (secret life, juno, etc) is wrong. Accidents happen, but I swear, some of these girls just want the attention. They get the attention they want for..oh maybe 3 months. Then what? 17 years and 9 months suffering the consequences of having to grow up too fast. or their emotional development is stunted and they never grow up.
—-

NO! teens will be embarrassed as all hell, and depending on the size of the town/school wouldn’t even go to the clinic because of fear they’ll start rumors.
There’s planned parenthood and doctor’s offices for a reason. Let the students know where they can go for private testing and services, then leave it at that. If you can’t talk to your partner about birth control, and get them to use it/get it yourself, DON’T HAVE SEX!

Raugiel
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 02:09 pm: [report]

@thegr8brownie: 1) if they don’t go to the school, they can go to the health department, which you already pay for. 2) a test may well change whether or not you pay for the welfare. She could have an abortion, get prepared for an adoption, or otherwise take some control over the situation that could prevent her ending up on welfare. 3) this program is about embrasing responsibility - by the teens. Obviously parents aren’t doing it. Churches sure as heck aren’t. But the teen needs some access to resources if she (and hopefully some he’s as well who are participating in whatever mess they’ve helped to make) is going to take responsibility and not just get boxed in by the disaproving adults around her (obviously not in all cases, but in the case of those who can’t talk to their folks, absolutly!) 4) Shaming is what put us in our current position in the first place. AND just because a pregnant teen may want to marry the man or boy who knocked her up, that doesn’t mean it will happen. Holding a shotgun to a young man’s head during a wedding ceremony is frowned upon these days.

joyy
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 02:13 pm: [report]

Even with the whole pregnancy test issue aside - STD testing can help get people diagnosed (and therefore treated) sooner.  That helps control the spread of disease.  That is a good thing.

ahw
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 02:14 pm: [report]

@sportzriter13 I’m not at all promoting forcing abortion on students to stay in school; I don’t know how you got that from my post.  I am pro education and pro giving resources, and I see STD tests and pregancy tests as resources.  That is all.

I fully agree with you and @thegr8brownie when it comes down to teen pregnancy being glorified in the media.  I have the opportunity with my work and life to talk to young women a lot, and it scares me to see them wanting to get pregnant (in a lot of cases when they feel that the baby would love them, and there isn’t anyone else who does).  They don’t see the nitty-gritty of everyday life with teenage parenthood, or parenthood in general.

And sportzriter13, please understand that for many students, school is the safest place they will ever be.  At least, walking into the nurse’s office, they will be confidentially treated and can tell a friend that they don’t feel well or something.  Being seen walking into a Planned Parenthood for some unknown reason in a small town will cause a lot more ruckus than walking into a nurse’s office, obviously.  When the worst happens, we all need somewhere safe to go and high school students, no matter how irresponsible they were, need this too.

sportzriter13
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 02:16 pm: [report]

Before anyone gets on my case, I would like to clarify part of my previous comment
  I had a friend who loved being the center of attention. If all eyes weren’t on her, she’d do something to get them there. She got married at the age of 18, to some random guy she met on myspace (whose old enough to be her dad-ran away twice to meet up with him), and poof, less then a year together and they had a baby. You can’t tell me she didn’t plan on having everyone oooh and ahhh over the newest member of the family.
  A year or two ago, there was a local high school in the news. There was a group of girlfriends who found these random guys to hook up with, and yes, get pregnant. Why? Probably had something to do with the attention.
I just want society to hold these teenagers (male and female) responsible for their actions

Raugiel
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 02:25 pm: [report]

@sportzriter13 - I agree that folks who want to get pregnant and do bear responsibility. BUT, there are a few things to remember. 1) these kids may not be interested in using prevention facilities at school anyway; 2) if we are thinking of the same group of teens, I think it was later shown that they didn’t try to get pregnant on purpose, even though that’s what their principal told the news teams; 3) kids who actually are trying to get pregnant on purpose are being failed somewhere - why not give the school a chance to pull them back into sensible reality; and 4) kids who get pregnant on purpose these days and can’t aford the kids still get help from the government, so what’s the difference between having help at school or at the county health office?

sportzriter13
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 02:25 pm: [report]

@ahw- sorry for mis-interpreting that part of your post.Thank you for clarifying. I agree with the basic idea that resources should be available.
The nurse at my high school always talked down to students. Hearing a lecture (probably would get one) would only make a bad situation worse.

I understand having a safe place, but I don’t like the idea of schools having to become full-service community centers.

Coral
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 02:26 pm: [report]

@sportzriter13: Are you talking about the so-called Pregnancy Pact from girls who went to Gloucester High School in Massachusetts? I live in Massachusetts (a very different part) but Gloucester is basically a poor fishing town and generally girls don’t get pregnant for attention. I think it’s more of a lack of judgment and education.

sportzriter13
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 02:46 pm: [report]

I stand corrected on the pact.

I understand some of the arguments, but again. I don’t think it’s for the school to deal with.
Schools are there to educate. They are not there for advanced healthcare or life decisions. It’s one thing to have a councilor to talk to when issues at home affect the ability to learn, it’s quite another to try to fix everyone’s lives for them. What I do on my time is not the school’s business.
Not everyone gets a perfect start, but people have to take responsibility for their own actions. There are some who grow up in abject poverty, or are somehow failed, and yet they overcame. They overcame because they got a hand up, not a handout and didn’t just sit there blaming everyone else for their screw ups.
I have a disability; when I mess up, should I blame it, along with everyone else, and demand my school “fix it”? or should I take responsibility for what I can control, and work to overcome?
Government help (often in the form of welfare) is supposed to be a hand up (keep people from starving to death as they try to get a job and better themselves) but often becomes a hand out (don’t bother to get a job, let the school become the parent). Teaching responsibility by not trying to fix everyone else’s mistakes will make a difference between the hand up and the handout.

ahw
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 02:50 pm: [report]

@sportzriter13 I can see where you’d see these tests as a hand out rather than a hand up, but I see them as a hand up.  At the point that students will be going to get these tests, they will be trying to overcome a situation that yes, you’re right, they were idiots to put themselves in a lot of the time.  In this case, the option to know early on if they have an STD or a pregnancy can be a hand up for them.

joyy
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 02:53 pm: [report]

Um, offering testing is hardly offering to fix a problem for a student.  If you’re possibly pregnant or have an STD - it’s best for the health of everyone involved to know sooner than later.  I really don’t get the impression that the school is taking any action in treating/addressing whatever the test results reveal or trying to influence whatever decision their students make.

Anniekins
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 02:55 pm: [report]

I agree that we need to have some sort of “embrace responsibility movement”.  I do personally believe that if you’re mature enough for sex, you’re mature enough to buy condoms, get tested and buy your own home pregnancy test.

Unfortunately, most teens that are having sex AREN’T mature enough to be having it, but they’re doing it anyway.  That’s why things like this have (unfortunately) become necessary.

emflow
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 03:46 pm: [report]

I agree we need and “embrace responsibility” movement, but I have no problem with my taxes funding free STD/pregnancy screening in schools. However, I don’t like the idea of these services being offered by the school specifically.

I’d be much happier to hear that autonomously run clinics were being made available in schools. Two main reasons for that:
- I don’t want to see those healthcare costs lumped into education budgets, which (in most cases) are already stretched thin
- Educators and education administrators should be focused on teaching students. We already have these people doing bunches of other jobs ranging from babysitting to counseling, they shouldn’t be dealing with healthcare too

Trixie Firecracker
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 04:56 pm: [report]

I think an Alaska judge ruled against Sarah Palin wanting to have parental notification for abortions for teenage girls on the grounds that producing life is a momentous decision and that no one should interfere with the primary decision-maker’s choice. This goes the same way. Sure the parents might be up in arms over it but they’re not the ones that are 16 and pregnant.

calenia
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 07:19 pm: [report]

If parents want a say its really quite simple; have an open and honest relationship with your children about sex. Give them the tools they need to make informed decisions and be responsible. Its usually the parents who don’t talk to their children or who preach archaic abstinence that force their kids to seek those services in the first place and one less STD infection in a highschool is win and worth it.

ahw
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 07:22 pm: [report]

@calenia But that doesn’t happen all the time, and we have to realize that.

DancingGeek
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 08:27 pm: [report]

I think it’s a great idea. The cost of getting tested could be prohibitive for a teen, and that should not be a reason to not get tested and begin treatment/prevent spreading the disease.

As much as I would like to see parents take responsibility for that portion of their children’s education, sadly most do not, they would prefer to let the schools teach it- or NOT teach it.

_jsw_
wrote on July 29 2009 @ 08:37 pm: [report]

I think this is fantastic. Those who think teens should be more responsible confuse “should” with “will”. Reality trumps fantasy here.

Kids who have STDs can get treatment before spreading them. Hearing that classmates have STDs might cause some to practice safer sex or even put off having sex. Finding out they are pregnant early in the pregnancy not only means more options to terminate the pregnancy, but, for those who are opposed to that, it means more options to properly treat the pregnancy, resulting in a better chance of a healthy birth. Healthy kids cost everyone less over time. Terminated pregnancies cost everyone less over time. Controlled STDs cost everyone less over time.

No one loses.

skywalk
wrote on July 30 2009 @ 05:40 am: [report]

sportzriter13 -I grew up in abject poverty and overcame it but I don’t know what that has to do with STD and Pregnancy testing.

School is for learning and these tests are a learning tool if they go hand and hand with sex ed.  If they are just providing the tests and failing them in the education side (this goes with any subject in school) then I would have issue with it.  But I think the STD testing is a great preventive measure and worth the cost.

condomelite1
wrote on November 20 2009 @ 11:07 am: [report]

Absolutely YES! we are sooo behind all developed countries in sex education and honest prevention programs. Let’s name everything the name it is. Teenagers WILL experiment with SEX, because.. they are teenagers! Latest stats are horrific! Please yourself, take a look:
http://condomelite.com/condoms/2009/11/20/chlamydia-gonorrhea-syphilis-raise-2009/

SouthOC
wrote on November 20 2009 @ 11:13 am: [report]

@sportswriter:  Well said!!!!!

Schools are there to educate. They are not there for advanced healthcare or life decisions. It’s one thing to have a councilor to talk to when issues at home affect the ability to learn, it’s quite another to try to fix everyone’s lives for them. What I do on my time is not the school’s business.

Our schools need to focus on the #1 priority… Teaching kids “reading, writing, rithmatic.”