Maine town launches recall effort over controversial middle school contraceptive policy

In a vote of 7-2, Portland school committee members recently approved a new controversial health policy for an area middle school. The policy will make King Middle School the first such school in Maine to offer birth control to its students, some as young as 11 years old. In order for students to participate in the program they must submit a parental consent form; however, under Maine law, treatment received can remain confidential -- even from parents.

Under the program, students could receive a wide variety of contraceptives ranging from birth-control pills, the patch, and even the controversial abortafacient RU-486. The move by the school board has sparked the outrage of many Portland parents who have since launched a recall effort aimed at those who voted in favor of the policy.

The recall effort was launched Monday with the initial gathering of 500 signatures; the next phase consists of gathering 3,000 signatures over a four-day period. Julie Ann O'Brien, executive director of the Maine Republican Party, says it is going to be a massive effort.

"Portland is, unfortunately, a liberal city. It's going to be difficult to ... get those signatures. But what it is doing is certainly causing a dialogue and discussion. So that is an offshoot, a very positive offshoot of all this. So whether it gets to the point [where we can] recall ... the school board members, it certainly has dominated our news in this area."

In a press release O'Brien stated that "the need of an 11-year-old for birth control should raise serious questions, and certainly the parents or guardians should have knowledge of that. The ramifications of 'consensual sex' for children are enormous. Physical and mental health issues are the responsibility of the parents, not the schools and government."

Ben Meiklejohn is one of the school board members who voted against the policy because, he says, the parental consent form was too vague. However, he claims that the policy does not target 11-year-olds.

"This isn't dispensing of contraceptives to 11-, 12- and 13-year-olds," he asserts. "We're talking about a target population of a few 14- or 15-year-olds who happen to be enrolled in middle school."

But O'Brien disagrees with Meiklejohn's statement. "The more we speak to [the board members] and the press speaks with the board members, it appears that this decision was not very well researched -- and the policy was not well researched," she argues. "I'm not so sure that that is true what Mr. Meiklejohn is saying."

According to O'Brien, the decision on the contraceptives policy was made in less than an hour. She claims there has been more discussion about leash laws than what was given to this school health policy.