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High School Will Prescribe Birth Control

School Board Combating Large Number Of Student Pregnancies

POSTED: 4:14 pm PDT May 13, 2009
UPDATED: 12:10 pm PDT May 14, 2009

The school board in Willamina voted in favor of giving a high school health clinic the ability to prescribe birth control to teenage girls.

Tuesday night, the school board voted 3 to 2 in favor of the plan to allow the school-based health center's nurse practitioner on the Willamina High campus to write prescriptions for the pill.

The school only has about 300 students, but sources said five seniors have given birth this year and nine other girls are currently pregnant.

The proposal was recommended by a Yamhill County advisory group that includes people who live in Willamina.

The district's policy says the school nurse will also be able to provide condoms to students who ask for them.

The decision got mixed reactions from students and parents in Willamina. Some students said they think this will be a good thing.

"I think it's really good that they're doing it. The town needs help. It's not a good thing. It's still happening for us," Willamina student Jared Turner said.

  SURVEY
The Willamina High School health center will soon begin writing prescriptions for birth control. Should a high school health center be allowed to give girls the prescription?

But some parents didn't agree and said that if students need birth control they should be talking to their parents about it.

"As a parent, I disagree because I think it's our responsibility to work with our kids and raise our kids. It's not the school's responsibility," Willamina parent James Vaccarezza said.

Vaccarezza is the father of one of the pregnant students and said that he supports his daughter 100 percent but still doesn't think the school should start offering birth control.

High School Will Prescribe Birth Control

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