Over at the XX Factor, Rachel Larimore greets news that middle schoolers can privately access birth control with bizarre dismay:
I know the statistics show that offering birth control to teenagers doesn't increase sexual activity. But so many people—parents, educators, volunteers—are working hard to help girls create build self-esteem and create the positive self-images that encourage them to say no to sex. Measures like this one seem to undercut those efforts. And isn't one of the problems with education today that parents aren't involved enough? By removing the parents from the equation here, you're not doing anything to foster the strong family relationships that our children need.
So, first, the statistics show this is not a problem. But let's throw them out the window. What about self esteem!?
Still, I don't get it. How does private access to birth control undermine self esteem? I'm pretty sure that, from age 12, every successive year during which I did not have sex substantially diminished my sense of self worth. The accessibility of birth control had nothing to do with it.
