Needless to say, parents across the country are in an uproar. Understandable. But instead of freaking out over the thought of their children being anything less than innocent, these parents need to look at the facts and see the positive change that this will create in the school systems.

The Maine Youth Risk Behavior Survey taken in 1997 reported that 23 percent of middle school students in Maine were having sexual intercourse. Wow. Even I didn’t know the numbers were that high.

During the past four years in Portland, Maine, there have been a reported 17 pregnancies from middle school girls. This is not including girls who have had miscarriages, abortions and those that didn’t exactly want to share their story with the school nurse.

Obviously, middle schoolers are having sex — with or without the pill. Let’s be honest, when you finally make the decision to have sex for the first time, it’s not usually because you have the correct contraceptives within arm’s length. No doubt that protecting yourself should be the first thought that crosses your mind when you finally decide to lose your virginity.

These 17 girls who got pregnant at such a young age were robbed of their childhood. I’m not saying it’s right to have sex that young, but you can almost guarantee if they could have been able to obtain birth control without going to their parents, some of the pregnancies could have been avoided.

It’s absolutely mortifying to buy condoms, no matter what age. Imagine trying to buy them when you’re 13. This is why giving these kids a safe place they can go to ask about sex and learn about the safety measures to take is extremely important.

There’s no doubt the parents of these impregnated children would probably give anything to go back and put their daughters on the pill. It’s obviously not a favorable situation, but if it avoids a teen pregnancy then by all means do it.

According to YouthNoise.com, there are about 850,000 teen pregnancies each year. Out of all teen mothers, only four in 10 graduate high school.

These numbers are huge and with the way our society is heading, they will most likely only rise, unless we take actions to stop them. I think having birth control available for kids starting at a young age is one of the first steps.

Although many of these teen pregnancies might take place in high school, it’s important to instill the importance of safe sex into teenagers’ minds at a young age, even if they are not yet sexually active. This way when they finally do have sex, they will know the precautions to take before they make the jump.

It seems fair to assume the parents that are angry over these school districts’ decision to approve birth control are those that are not close with their children. If they had a good relationship with their middle schoolers then they would not be so nervous about what decisions their middle schoolers will be making on their own.

Raising a child with good values and letting them know that you are there to help them make the big decisions in their life, such as when to have sex, is what is most important.

I know my parents raised me with an open mind and good morals, which controls my decision about having or not having sex. It has nothing to do with whether or not I have the opportunity to get a birth control pill. Although if people do have sex during middle school, I’m sure that having that support would help the decision-making process.

Kelly Kane is a State News columnist and staff writer. Reach her at kanekell@msu.edu.