Last Wednesday, a school board in Portland, Maine approved a measure that will make birth control pills available to sixth-through eighth-grade students after they have had a physical examination by a physician or nurse practitioner. This aggressive move toward children’s rights points to the large issues our country has when it comes to sex education.

Students at King Middle School in Portland (typically aged 11 through 13) have had access to condoms since 2002. While the students have to gain permission from their parents to obtain medical services at the school health center, the newly passed measure keeps the services and even prescriptions attained confidential between the practitioner and the student.

Currently, the politics of sexual education is being debated throughout the nation. The U.S. Senate will soon vote on whether sexual education programs must teach scientifically backed information, which may force some of the vague scare tactics out of curriculums. Minnesota recently rejected half a million dollars in funding for abstinence-only programs.

Although it seems as though we as a society are moving away from abstinence-only education overall, jumping to allow middle-school-aged students birth control prescriptions might not be the best answer. Yes, we badly need more than abstinence-only education, but the answers come in comprehensive sexual education, not by simply throwing pills at the problem. We doubt that an 11-year-old would be mature enough to use birth control pills correctly and responsibly.

It is good that a school board has recognized that some students are going to be sexually active, but there are better ways to assist students in preventing pregnancy and STD infection. We must seek to educate students about all of the aspects of sex, including how to use contraception, in order for them to be able to grow up with the ability to make responsible sexual choices in the future.