+1 to Skil's last post.

Why you all over me brother Sarge? I tried responding to skil's last post but it got hidden for blasphemy or something. Having been a public high school teacher I guess I'm not allowed to mention any truth in here about the public school system these days. I've moved on.

Come to think of it, I've seen an increase in heat in these forums in the last week or so. I wonder why.

Who?
Anywhosiewhatsis, I'd guess you let slip a swear word along with the response, or something like that, but think you're still smelling like roses.

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Morning-after Pills Available at 13 NYC Schools

NEW YORK (AP) - The New York City Department of Education is making the morning-after-pill available to high school girls at 13 public schools. The DOE says girls as young as 14 will be able to get the Plan B emergency contraception without parental consent. Parents have been notified about the CATCH pilot program and how their daughters can opt out of it. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn says she supports the program because high school students are sexually active and getting pregnant. The city says about 7,000 girls get pregnant by the time they reach the age of 17. It says more than half choose to get an abortion. NYC schools already distribute free condoms to students.

Why are we encouraging sexual activity in teenagers in NYC?

scratch scratch scratch...

Why are they providing without the knowledge of parents? Why are they providing without prescriptions?

Morning-after Pills Available at 13 NYC Schools

NEW YORK (AP) - The New York City Department of Education is making the morning-after-pill available to high school girls at 13 public schools. The DOE says girls as young as 14 will be able to get the Plan B emergency contraception without parental consent. Parents have been notified about the CATCH pilot program and how their daughters can opt out of it. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn says she supports the program because high school students are sexually active and getting pregnant. The city says about 7,000 girls get pregnant by the time they reach the age of 17. It says more than half choose to get an abortion. NYC schools already distribute free condoms to students.

Why are we encouraging sexual activity in teenagers in NYC?

scratch scratch scratch...

Why are they providing without the knowledge of parents? Why are they providing without prescriptions?

To be in compliance with New York State law, at least that's what it says here:

Confidentiality is as important as autonomous consent. Adolescents are more forthcoming about risky behaviors if they have time alone with a provider. Because confidentiality is vital to sexual and reproductive health care, New York State law protects the confidentiality of minors regarding such care. When a minor independently consents to sexual and reproductive health care, the health care provider may not disclose information about it to parents or any other third party without the minor’s permission, or unless otherwise required or permitted by law.

ETA: Where does it say anything about provision without prescription? Seems to me the pilot is to allow health care providers, that may already be sited on school premises, to make such prescriptions, rather than have the girl in question go to an off site health care provider.

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I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that ...

Ok ok...

In reference to Head Scratcher #n+1, let me be more precise in my question.

Why did NYC voters allow the state to take over more responsibility in raising their children and why did NYC voters vote to encourage more sexual activity in their teenagers?

Still scratchin'...

If NYC voters had the ability to direct the state legislature, the 2nd Avenue Subway would have been completed decades ago. It seems you are arguing that greater access to contraceptives leads to increased sexual activity, do you have data to support this argument?

ETA: Allowing minors access to healthcare without alerting parents does not necessarily mean that NYS voters are giving the state greater responsibility for raising minors, it could be that the voters have given minors greater responsibility for their own affairs.

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I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that ...

greater access to contraceptives leads to increased sexual activity, do you have data to support this argument?

Don't need data to support this argument. It's really quite simple. Taking away the consequences of poor choices made by minors gives them the freedom to continue making those poor choices, thus, increasing the number of poor choices being made. Another way of saying this is that it is being encouraged.

That's what asking for data is all about, bro'uddy!
Your comment seems reasonable, on the surface, to a lot of people.
Get the data. See if "common sense" is really sense or nonsense. It can go EITHER way.

greater access to contraceptives leads to increased sexual activity, do you have data to support this argument?

Don't need data to support this argument. It's really quite simple. Taking away the consequences of poor choices made by minors gives them the freedom to continue making those poor choices, thus, increasing the number of poor choices being made. Another way of saying this is that it is being encouraged.

ETA: Allowing minors access to healthcare without alerting parents does not necessarily mean that NYS voters are giving the state greater responsibility for raising minors, it could be that the voters have given minors greater responsibility for their own affairs.

Access to healthcare? Greater responsibility for their own affairs? So, (and this is difficult for me to say it like this because we are talking about the MIRACLE OF LIFE) getting pregnant is like being infected with a tumor by your boyfriend which requires healthcare to remove the cancerous tissue and because healthcare for everybody is now a right, the taxpayer voted to fund this medical procedure? I'm still scratching my head over this.

Bobby, ... both you and I were once a cancerous tumors. How come we weren't treated? Should we have been treated? Is the reason we weren't treated because when we were infecting our mothers, enough progress hadn't been made in society yet?

I appreciate that you don't like it, contraception, including Plan B, is considered health care in the US.

The data question was intentional, the majority of studies that have looked at the impact of availability of contraception have not found any evidence for it to lead to an increase in sexual activity.

As for poor choices, surely Plan B is a better choice than an abortion later on? Granted abstinence is a better policy still, though minors will not stop engaging in sexual activity because contraception is not available (again data is on my side).

I guess you thought I was joking when I suggested that the rights of minors was an issue in need of addressing.

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I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that ...

I have to wonder sometimes if the laws made by man are at odds with the natural laws of biology and physics.

I have an autistic son and my neighbours had a daughter with downs syndrome. Thanks to the WWW we have both done some research into the problems. It would appear for both defects that the older the mother the greater the chances of them occuring.

So I ask are we just fighting mother nature.

But I would suggest completing education is the better course.

A billion years of genetic evolution has programmed us to seek out healthy mates and procreate, the puny laws of man pale in comparison.
Any move to mitigate the consequences of this programming is likely to be far more successful than a few hand-wringing individuals trying to fight against the course of nature.

There are already over seven billion people on this planet, we don't really need any more.

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Life on earth is the global equivalent of not storing things in the fridge.

I have to wonder sometimes if the laws made by man are at odds with the natural laws of biology and physics.

I have an autistic son and my neighbours had a daughter with downs syndrome. Thanks to the WWW we have both done some research into the problems. It would appear for both defects that the older the mother the greater the chances of them occuring.

So I ask are we just fighting mother nature.

But I would suggest completing education is the better course.

I have a sister with autism, and I too have done some research:

Older men are more likely than young ones to father a child who develops autism or schizophrenia, because of random mutations that become more numerous with advancing paternal age, scientists reported on Wednesday, in the first study to quantify the effect as it builds each year. The age of mothers had no bearing on the risk for these disorders, the study found.

---

I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that ...

I have to wonder sometimes if the laws made by man are at odds with the natural laws of biology and physics.

I have an autistic son and my neighbours had a daughter with downs syndrome. Thanks to the WWW we have both done some research into the problems. It would appear for both defects that the older the mother the greater the chances of them occuring.

So I ask are we just fighting mother nature.

But I would suggest completing education is the better course.

I have a sister with autism, and I too have done some research:

Older men are more likely than young ones to father a child who develops autism or schizophrenia, because of random mutations that become more numerous with advancing paternal age, scientists reported on Wednesday, in the first study to quantify the effect as it builds each year. The age of mothers had no bearing on the risk for these disorders, the study found.

Try Higher Maternal Age Predicts Risk of Autism

I have to wonder sometimes if the laws made by man are at odds with the natural laws of biology and physics.

I have an autistic son and my neighbours had a daughter with downs syndrome. Thanks to the WWW we have both done some research into the problems. It would appear for both defects that the older the mother the greater the chances of them occuring.

So I ask are we just fighting mother nature.

But I would suggest completing education is the better course.

I have a sister with autism, and I too have done some research:

Older men are more likely than young ones to father a child who develops autism or schizophrenia, because of random mutations that become more numerous with advancing paternal age, scientists reported on Wednesday, in the first study to quantify the effect as it builds each year. The age of mothers had no bearing on the risk for these disorders, the study found.

Try Higher Maternal Age Predicts Risk of Autism

Yes, the link between paternal age and autism is reasonably new, and appears to overturn previous studies showing a link between maternal age. It seems the previous studies did not investigate paternal age as a factor (including the one you linked). As, spouses are on average likely to be of a similar age, the maternal age link could plausibly be reached, however, with paternal age as a factor, it seems the data is a better fit for paternal age than maternal.

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I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that ...

Certainly a subject that needs more research.

Just like this story Eunuchs reveal clues to why women live longer than men

but they failed to check on, Castrato versus non-castrato singers, were it would appear there is no difference in longevity.

Speaking of Head Scratchers.

Got a Nano Machine Auto Hair Parter for Christmas.

Now, I can keep A Perfect Part 24/7/365 and Get Head Scratching to boot!

Man 'O Live. Christmas Is Cool.

FO SHO Bro...ahem Heims.

DEMON...Hair Parted ALL HOT

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May we All have a METAMORPHOSIS. REASON. GOoD JUDGEMENT and LOVE and ORDER!!!!!

Speaking of Head Scratchers.

Got a Nano Machine Auto Hair Parter for Christmas.

Now, I can keep A Perfect Part 24/7/365 and Get Head Scratching to boot!

Man 'O Live. Christmas Is Cool.

FO SHO Bro...ahem Heims.

DEMON...Hair Parted ALL HOT

<=== yowza! This guy wakes up with his hair parted!