Baltimore's Lead in Contraception
Published: December 14, 1992
A girl who grows up in Baltimore, has all too strong a chance of becoming a mother before she reaches adulthood. In 1990, 1 in 10 of the city's 15- to 17-year-olds gave birth.
So it was welcome news two years ago when contraceptives became available at health clinics in the city's six high schools and two middle schools. Although Maryland law allows youngsters to receive birth control devices without an adult's permission, 95 percent of the students O.K.'d the schools' request to talk to parents.
Next month students at the Laurence Taquin School for girls who are pregnant or already mothers will have another option for contraception -- the long-lasting Norplant. A consortium of hospitals, doctors, clinics and a foundation, supported by the Mayor of Baltimore, hopes to make Norplant available in all eight school clinics.
Norplant can protect against pregnancy for up to five years. Tiny tubes filled with progestin are implanted under the skin of a woman's upper arm; the hormone is then slowly released into the body. Should she change her mind about pregnancy, the tubes can be removed surgically.
A young woman using Norplant doesn't have to worry about getting pregnant; but she must continue to worry about sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. So the consortium is also stressing that there's no safe sex without condoms.
While Baltimore's Health Department and school system will continue to stress abstinence as the safest route for youngsters, they're also being common-sensical. "We have to deal with the reality that in the Baltimore school system three-quarters or more of the students are sexually active," said Dr. Peter Beilenson, the city Health Commissioner.
That so many children are sexually active so soon is sad -- but not as sad as motherhood at 13 or dying of AIDS at 18. The Baltimore initiative is brave, and quite possibly a life saver.