Controversy and confusion surrounded the decision by King Middle School in Portland, Maine, to offer birth control pills to children as young as 11, without their parents' knowledge. Oral contraception and condoms have been available for years in Portland's high schools, but extending this policy to middle schools is seen by some as encouraging underage sexual activity.

This practice is also viewed as possibly covering up sexual and other forms of abuse in families. It also provides the potential for a pregnant 11-year-old child to be diagnosed and then to have an abortion without parental awareness or consent.

Some parents were ambivalent or even favored the school's independently operated clinic taking over this important aspect of child care. However, others are worried about the long-term health issues resulting from taking oral contraception at such an early age and the potential for future psychological difficulties when children and young teenagers become involved in sexual relationships or have abortions—all without parental knowledge or counsel.

On Oct. 19, the principal of King Middle School published a letter on the school's Web site explaining the rationale for the decision: "To prevent pregnancy the Health Center needs to have contraception as an option when a student admits being sexually active. Contraception would only be prescribed in rare cases after counseling about abstinence and postponing sexual behavior was not productive. Every effort is always made to encourage the student to join with her parents in making this decision."

This all appears to be treating the effects of a problem and not the root causes. Surrounded by a culture that no longer allows children to be children, is it possible that a child of 11 or a teenager of 14 or 15 would even recognize that she or he was being coerced into sexual activity?

Without a strong moral society or, failing that, strong family values in setting a right example of abstinence before commitment (commitment within a biblical marriage), how are children to learn what is right and what is wrong where sexuality is concerned?

For information on God's purpose for marriage and families, request or download our free booklet Marriage and Family: The Missing Dimension. (Sources: Detroit Free Press, The New York Times, King Middle School Web site.)