By Victor Skinner
EAGnews.org

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Seniors at one Brooklyn high school will have access to condoms on prom night, courtesy of the school.

Bedford-Stuyvesant Preparatory High School officials are handing out 500 condoms at the school’s prom next month to help protect students who might be prone to risky sex behavior on the big night, according to MSNBC.

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“As they leave the prom, they’re welcome to it,” school Principal Darryl Rascoe said. “We are not forcing it on anybody, but we want them to have that option.”

Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, told the news site the group is “concerned that the distribution of condoms on school campuses further normalizes teen sex.”

We think she has a pretty good point.

We assume the district doesn’t condone teen sex, but we have to wonder what kind of message the condom giveaway sends to students who may feel pressured to have sex. Are school officials simply adding to the already powerful expectation of sex on prom night?

You can almost hear the boy whispering in his date’s ear: “See honey, it’s okay. Even the principal knows we’re going to do it. Stop being so stubborn.”

The condom giveaway is a joint effort between the school and NuVo condoms, and is part of a broader safe sex drive at the school, which caters to students who have had academic, disciplinary or other problems in the past. School officials have conducted safe sex forums, and plan to have a safe sex school assembly in the days leading up to prom.

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The school is also sponsoring a safe sex essay contest.

Principal Rascoe said the decision to participate is driven by the school’s desire to fully prepare students for life beyond high school.

He said getting pregnant is “self-sabotage. It makes it more difficult to move forward and life becomes a struggle,” MSNBC reports.

Mr. Rascoe is right about that. But he should remember that the best way to prevent pregnancy is to avoid sexual contact. Nobody will feel encouraged to avoid sex when the school is handing out condoms.