Board allows contraceptive dispensing in high schools

Members of the Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education unanimously approved Tuesday night the dispensing of contraceptives in high schools.

The vote allows school-based health clinics at Las Cruces and Oñate high schools to dispense condoms and oral contraceptives in conjunction with counseling about abstinence and sexually transmitted diseases, the Las Cruces Sun-News is reporting.

The controversial plan was approved following a long debate and after board members tacked on an amendment that allows parents to exclude their children from the program by signing a form that says their children can’t be served by the clinics.

Nurse practitioners who are certified to prescribe medication will be dispending the contraceptives, the newspaper reported.