Parents of middle school children in San Francisco strongly oppose the proposal to hand out condoms to the students. The mothers, fathers and guardians of these kids claimed that they are not yet ready for this exposure at a very young age.
The parents greatly expressed their concern to the vote of the San Francisco Unified School Board to make condoms available to the students, ABC13 reported. "We have to sign a consent form for them to go on a field trip, but we don't need to know if they're getting a condom?" a parent was quoted by the same report as saying.
For her part, parent Nikkie Ho also said that it would be too early to give their kids access to this contraceptive. "We're talking about between 11 and 14 years old. And they are not ready for it, so I don't think this is appropriate," she added.
Some parents blasted the distribution of condoms as something very "casual" which the children can just get when they need it.
In their decision to allow students access to condoms, the San Francisco Board of Education said in an RT report that they simply want to aid youngsters to make health decisions.
"We want to engage students in discussions about their reproductive health so they are equipped to make healthy decisions," school district's director of safety and wellness Kevin Gogin said. "There is no research that supports providing condoms in schools increases sexual activity."
Students will only be allowed to have condoms after their consult with a nurse in their respective schools. This came after the district surveyed schools and found out that 5 percent of those in middle school are already sexually active.
"But of that 5 percent, only about 50 percent are accessing condoms. So we need to reach those other students. Every life is important for us," Gogin explained.
