Birth control is widely available to teenagers. Anyone can purchase it at drugstores, and both Planned Parenthood and the Teen Choice clinic offer it free. Still, there is a certain social stigma associated with using it. Many people assume that guys who carry condoms are clearly having sex every night, and girls on the pill have an excuse to be sluts. Rather than being regarded as wisely prepared, these teenagers are stereotyped by adults and their peers.

As I walked to my fifth period class the other day, I noticed a colorful new fixture on the bare yellow side of one of the portables. “Abstinence,” the banner shouted, in bright bubbled lettering, “It’s not about birth control, it’s about self control.”

Instantly, what I was taught in health class freshman year was no longer valid. All the reasons I should use birth control, the various options available to me, suddenly had no merit.

Teenagers are bombarded with mixed signals. We used to constantly hear the refrain “Don’t have sex.” However, it seems that parents, teachers and the media now realize that the vast majority of high school students are going to have sex of some kind, and in recent years, the shift has been toward the promotion of safe sex. After all, if we’re going to indulge, we should be informed of how to avoid genital herpes and unwanted pregnancy, right?

Yet banners such as the one plastered on the Leadership portable undermine these efforts. Rather than encourage abstinence, this message makes birth control seem shameful. Responsible students who utilize birth control should be lauded as good examples, not humiliated. Disparaging it doesn’t ensure that students will stay celibate, but doing so will certainly make them less likely to use protection. With the humiliation of buying and using birth control, many students won’t bother. The grand effect of this abstinence message? More unprotected sex. More Chlamydia. More HIV positive. More underage abortions for teenagers who were too embarrassed to take precautions.

Self control is ambiguous and hard to maintain for anyone. Birth control is a tangible, proven solution. It isn’t about self control. It’s about doing what’s right for you, without contracting life-threatening diseases or making unexpected babies.

Rebecca Nelson is a senior at Auburn High School. This article first appeared in the Troy InVoice, the school newspaper.