The Rochester School District is considering a proposal to use taxpayer dollars to distribute condoms to students in grades 7-12 – without parental notification or consent. The proposal was suggested by the Monroe County Health Department and the Metro Council for Teen Potential due to the high rate of sexually-transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies among city youth.

TAKE ACTION:  If you live in the Rochester region, send a message to the Rochester City School Board.

The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle notes that “A youth behavior survey indicated that 58 percent of ninth- through 12th-graders in the City School District reported being sexually active, and that 21 percent of them reported having at least four partners. Health officials also report that nearly half of the HIV cases reported in 2010 were among people younger than 25.”

The Monroe County Health Department thinks the solution is giving the teens condoms, but many fear this will just encourage the students to become more promiscuous.

New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms does not believe that free condom distribution is the answer. No condom can ever protect a teenager from the broken heart that accompanies premarital sexual activity.

We need parents who will take the responsibility of training their children seriously. Students need professionals who understand their proper role in setting right examples and teaching abstinence until marriage. You don’t curb undesirable behavior by tacitly endorsing it.

TAKE ACTION:  If you live in the Rochester region, send a message to the Rochester City School Board.  Encourage the Board to reject this misguided proposal.