PORTLAND, Maine --

Pupils at a city middle school will be able to get birth control pills and patches at their student health center after the local school board approved the proposal Wednesday evening.

The plan, offered by city health officials, makes King Middle School the first middle school in Maine to make a full range of contraception available to students in grades 6 through 8, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.

There are no national figures on how many middle schools, where most students range in age from 11 to 13, provide such services.

At King Middle School, birth control prescriptions will be given after a student undergoes a physical exam by a physician or nurse practitioner, said Lisa Belanger, who oversees Portland's student health centers.

Students treated at the centers must first get written parental permission, but under state law such treatment is confidential, and students decide for themselves whether to tell their parents about the services they receive.

In Illinois a child of teen years age can get contraceptive devices or pills without parental consent BUT, if the same child of teen years age needs a tetanus shot, the PARENT MUST sign the permission slip and fill out forms for the teen child.  Is this morally wrong or right? Does this really make any logically sense? . . . What are your thoughts on this subject.