Students for Safe Sex, an advocacy group of Michigan State University students, is advocating to lift the ban on over-the-counter contraception availability in Michigan Public High Schools. 

In 1976, Clause 7 of Public Act 451 was passed in Michigan. This stated that schools were allowed to teach their students about family planning, but were banned from providing family planning tools like condoms. In 1981, the Attorney General released an opinion on Public Act 451 stating that sex education could not be mandatory in public high schools. In 1996, the statute was amended to ensure that parents had the right to take their child out of any family planning classes. In 2004, statutory language was amended to allow public high schools to teach abstinence as the primary family planning tool.

For over two decades, the school curriculum has not been updated to reflect the changing needs of high school students. Data from the National Surveys of Family Growth (NSFG) show that by the age of 19, 70% of youth have already had sexual intercourse. Sex education is not being taught in a way that prepares students for their inevitable future, making sex out to be “scary” and a “dirty word”. If the lack of education isn’t frightening enough, under Act 451, Michigan public high schools are banned from distributing family planning tools like condoms. Not only are students unable to learn about their own bodies and how they work, but they are also being denied access to tools that are made to help keep them safe.

Students are forced to turn to agencies like Planned Parenthood, their pediatrician, or parents to receive contraception, as they likely cannot afford to purchase them on their own. According to student testimonials, having to ask their guardian to either buy condoms or take them to Planned Parenthood can feel embarrassing.  

Here is the plain and simple truth: whether parents and guardians like it or not, their students will engage in sex at one point or another. According to the NSFG, at least half of American high school students have engaged in sexual activity. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that teen condom use has decreased at least 10% in the last twenty years.

What matters most is how we are preparing our youth for that in their future. Instead of sex being a taboo topic and contraception being seen as illicit, we should be promoting safety by providing students with the tools they need. Students deserve access to contraception in environments where they feel safe and familiar, like school.

Our ask is this: Lift the ban on over-the-counter family planning drug and device distribution in public high schools in Michigan.

Help protect our students from sexually transmitted illnesses, unplanned pregnancies, and the consequences that come from unprotected sexual activity. Sign our petition TODAY to help us put pressure on legislators to make a long-overdue change.