Fox News
Expand
Browse All Video
Watch Live

You're watching...

Morning-after pill made available at 13 NYC schools

Details

  • Description

    Schools can dispense emergency contraception without parental consent

  • Duration 4:32
  • Date

Clips

Also in this playlist...

Editor's Picks

Auto-advance: ON

Auto-advance
View All

Transcript

This transcript is automatically generated

We're past the hour now thirteen city schools in New York City are now offering students free birth control including plan B.

-- the morning after -- It's part of an expanding pilot program that started last year and officials report there's been little resistance here in the big city.

They say parents at those schools that are involved had the opportunity to opt out that only about one to 2% of the parents did opt out.

The rest of students at those thirteen schools can now get the -- the morning after pill for free and they don't have to tell their parents if they did.

By contrast the morning after pill is an emergency contraceptive it's supposed to reduce the risk of pregnancy if taken within a few days.

After six.

And it has no effect on women who were already pregnant.

There's no current estimate of the number of schools with similar programs but a 2001.

Survey of some 25 school based health centers found.

30% of them did indeed provide access to emergency contraception.

They're clearly a lot of them out there joining us now Fox News senior judicial analyst judge Andrew Pollack on of course there their privacy concerns here right and their rights of parents concerns here.

Well yes there are so let me make both arguments -- the government's argument is -- -- 7000.

Teenage pregnancies.

In the city of New York.

The user per year per year while and obviously.

The vast majorities probably 90% of them are unplanned.

And many of these are among the poor the city ends up paying for the cost of pregnancy and the cost frequently of the child care once the child is born.

So from the city's point of view anything.

It can do to deter the pregnancy we'll save taxpayer dollars that's one argument that's the mayor's argument the board of education's argument.

The other argument is.

That this is not a function for the city to get -- -- That the city is basically removing from parents the ability to regulate the behavior of their children.

Because these men and women receive these contraceptive devices in the case of the of the girls.

The morning after pill and aboard a flashy and -- -- this -- is the word actually.

Kills the fertilized egg by expelling it within a couple of days without the consent of the parents.

Now the same city law that allows that requires consents consent from parents for an ear piercing -- -- so.

But not for this kind of a medication the third issue is privacy.

Children have the same rights of privacy that that adults do and the schools have no business interfering.

And the parent child relationship.

And something as sentiment as sexual activity so that's where we are.

As you said in in the intro nobody else is doing this.

On so broadest scale and very few people complaining about it yet and it's it's clearly not a problem with parents here in your city is their challenge to this.

What are the concerns about -- they're probably will be a challenge to -- some parent will probably say.

You can't walk to my daughter without my consent -- kid go good good good teenager whatever go to free clinic for instance -- get the same thing yes.

Yes the without consent yes the same the law schools basically just doing for kids what they could do -- yes yes.

In my view it that that the laws are perverse that they would require the consent for tattooing or piercing but not for this.

But some parent will say you gave what to my child and when the city of fort and on the court we'll have to rule on whether this does invade the parent child relationship.

Whether they'd say the to the privacy of the child whether it's a proper function for government.

To interfere with this legally speaking if they were give to -- -- given the option to opt out.

Then would there be a legal leg to stand on -- guess -- depend on the circumstances that's a great question when the parents opt out they opt out of everything.

When they opt in -- they opt in to everything.

But they are not given notice for what the everything consists of over -- so if the parents opting in the boys can get condoms the girls can get birth control bills.

Tells the girls could get the -- a faction and the parent wouldn't know the school doesn't say.

Yesterday we gave your son condoms and yesterday we gave your daughter birth control pills yesterday we gave -- to order a pill that will expel.

The fertilized -- so be aware that the school doesn't have to tell that to the parent so the opting in still doesn't give specific notice to the parent or require specific approval from the parent.

For each of these contraceptive devices that the schools are giving up to your interest.

Thanks Jon Stewart goes we will stood for.

Load More