Taxpayers foot bill for free condoms in Philly schools

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
12/27/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Prophylactics will be available at 22 Philadelphia schools after winter break

Taxpayers will be footing the bill for free condoms in at least 22 Philadelphia-area schools. After winter break, students will be able to get the prophylactics in clear plastic dispensers. The condoms will be in schools that currently have the worst rates for sexually transmitted diseases.

School officials say that nurses will not monitor who takes the free condoms.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - There is a stipulation: while protection is free to students, parents who sign opt-out forms can have them withheld.

School officials say that nurses will not monitor who takes the free condoms.

"Students are to honor the wishes of their parents," Assistant Superintendent Dennis W. Creedon reportedly wrote in the email message. "If a student disrespects their guardian's directive, that is an issue of the home," he said.

Its part of a pilot program designed to address "an epidemic of sexually transmitted disease in adolescents in Philadelphia," according to Deputy Mayor for Health and Opportunity Donald F. Schwarz. Since April 2011, the city has given away about four million condoms. The rates for STDS has been reported as declining.

Philadelphia School District officials have sent an email to school nurses, notifying them that the clear-plastic condom dispensers would be installed "just inside the doorway near the entrance to your office."

Two of the schools in the pilot project do not have full-time nurses.

Of the 130,000 Philadelphia students who have received testing in the last five years, some 6,500 or five percent of them have tested positive for diseases including HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Parents were made aware of the distribution program in October and were given the chance to opt their children out of receiving the prophylactics.

The school district has not received "specific calls" from parents objecting to the program. The total number of parents who chose to disallow their children from receiving condoms, however, is not known.

According to Advocates for Youth, a nonprofit organization that advocates for sexual health among young people, there are at least 418 schools nationwide provide condoms.

In August, despite outrage from some parents, the school board in Springfield, Mass., approved a plan to distribute condoms in public high schools, as well as middle schools, providing free contraception to students as young as 11.

� 2012, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
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Keywords: Philadelphia, condoms, parents, students, high school, birth control, STDs

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1 - 4 of 4 Comments

vance
5 months ago
What else do we expect from a city ruled by the Party of Death and Deceit. The Obama voters which include 52% of the Catholics support what this high school is doing.
allain
5 months ago
this is the sad state of the world. condom becomes a weapon and venerated by government and its dirty politicians. instead of strengthening families they advocate divorce, abortion, same sex marriages and contraception solutions that have been failures since time immemorial. we need complete families, father, mother & children. then we need responsible parents to guide their children primarily on their faith to God and eventually oversee them on their spiritual upbringing. obedience to the Almighty is the most effective defense against all evils of this world.
Robert
5 months ago
What is next? Watch out Sebelius will have them at St. Mary's next!
DLL
5 months ago
A condom is for the un disciplined,willful,socially irresponsible individual,who will not ever be sexually continent,because it is possible that their parents never were. Weeds have choked the garden of the flowers of innocence and chastity among the young. A condom is like a muzzle on a dog that bites without it. In the case of those that are inclined to be taught that random sex is okay and un uncontrollable urge to relieve one self,they better have a good supply of condoms or contraceptives on hand. That is the sad mindset of our government and school systems these days. These school kids are prime for the sexual abuse of adults as well because these kids will have contraceptives an condoms in their possession at all times. An immoral or amoral society without moral teaching is a defenseless society. I suppose that some day soon sexual abuses of one to another,will become some new distortion of what constitutes a "Constitutional Right" to be sexually active in real time and on demand!

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