New York City is handing out birth control supplies -- including the morning-after pill -- to students at several of its schools under the auspices of a health initiative called CATCH (Connecting Adolescents To Comprehensive Health), the Newser website reports today (September 24, 2012).
Girls as young as 14 do not have to tell their parents they are taking the morning-after pill -- unless parents have previously opted out of the program -- which is aimed at stemming the tide of teenage pregnancy.
This is the first time that hormonal birth control is being offered in any school system in the United States. New York City students will also have access to the quarterly birth control injection Depo-Provera this fall.
Some 7,000 New York City schoolgirls get pregnant by the time they reach the age of 17. More than half of them choose to get an abortion.
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