READER FEEDBACK: Would you favor distribution of birth control pills in high schools in your community? City Edition

• Published in: The Boston globe
• Main Author: COMPILED BY MAUREEN GOGGIN
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston, Mass Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC 03.11.1994
• ISSN: 0743-1791

"My daughter is only 3 1/2 and already headstrong. I will do my best to discourage her from having sex in her high school years. But, if she does have sex, it will make me very unhappy if she becomes pregnant and it would break my heart if she got AIDS. So, given that those will be the choices in her childhood, I would favor distribution of birth control pills and condoms in high schools. Although I still believe that abortion should be legal for those who choose it, I had an abortion myself at an early age and I live with the pain and regret of that every day of my life. I would like to do anything possible to spare my daughter from having to make that kind of a decision. Therefore, in spite of the fact that I would prefer that she abstain from sex, I would like birth control pills to be available to students in high school." JILL MERRILL Arlington "I would not favor distribution of birth control pills in high school because of the medical implications as opposed to the social implications. I believe that the birth control pill has been linked to possible side effects and young women should not be offered medication in the same manner young men would be offered condoms. Birth control pills should be dispensed by a physician fully aware of a person's medical history and fully prepared to discuss all possible side effects." SUSAN MELAUGH Sharon