Little Opposition As NLHS Starts Offering Contraceptives

Few parents have chosen to prevent their children from receiving contraceptives at the school-based health clinic at .

Contraceptives became available on Thursday to students enrolled with the clinic. Venessa Reid, the nurse practitioner at the clinic, said 680 forms were sent out to parents on Feb. 1 giving them the option to opt out of the contraceptive services. Thirty-one forms were returned requesting this option.

“It’s a very tiny number compared to what I thought I was going to get,” said Reid.

Dr. Nicholas Fischer, superintendent of the , said he was not surprised that most parents did not oppose the program.

“I think most parents, whether they like the fact that their kids are sexually active or not, really want to acknowledge the reality that they want to help their kids avoid sexually transmitted diseases and avoid getting pregnant,” said Fischer.

The decision to start offering contraceptives was a collaborative one made by the school administration, Community Outreach, and the , which operates the clinic. It aims to combat the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy rates.

Both issues have been a cause for concern in New London. In 2010, the Ledge Light Health District Epidemiology Program concluded that there have been over 150 chlamydia infections a year in New London since 2005. The report said New London’s chlamydia rate was 103 percent higher than the national rate among Hispanics, and 43 percent and 36 percent higher among blacks and whites, respectively.

The report said the teen pregnancy rate in New London is lower than the national average among black and white 18 to 19-year-olds and slightly higher than the national average for Hispanics. However, the report also concluded that the birth rate for New London 15 to 17-year-olds was 81 percent higher than the national average for blacks, 76 percent higher for whites, and 35 percent higher for Hispanics.

The report concluded that STD and teen pregnancy prevention programs needed to be put in place in New London, including “culturally relevant” programs aimed at different races.

The clinic is offering condoms, oral contraceptive pills, hormone patches, and DepoProvera injections. With the exception of condoms, all contraceptives will be given out by prescription.

Reid said the clinic has already been involved in reproductive health visits, which include STD and pregnancy tests. Reid said the visits are confidential and also discuss abstinence and the possible ramifications of sexual activity.

Reid said that if a student is sexually active and seeking a contraceptive, she first needs to discuss their sexual history and that it may take more than one visit before she can prescribe a contraceptive. She said no contraceptives were given out on Thursday because sports physicals were scheduled, but that some students did schedule appointments for reproductive health visits.

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