LANSING, Mich. -- Virtual learning could prove to be a benefit for teaching Michigan kids about sexual health.

The Michigan Department of Education worked this summer on a series of sex-education webinars for educators.

Brittany Batell, program and engagement manager for the Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health, worked with the department and said teachers shared their findings that student engagement dropped when schools went virtual in the spring.

However, she said students in the schools that continued to teach sex-ed online didn't lose interest in the topics of health and relationships.

"Perhaps there is some comfort in confidentiality if they're not by their classmates," Batell said. "They don't have the sense that they're being 'watched,' or they don't have to worry about feeling awkward or embarrassed in the presence of others. So, they're engaging more than in-person."

Michigan school districts are required to teach about HIV and other communicable diseases; most districts also offer sex-ed courses.

Batell contends evidence-informed, age-appropriate and comprehensive sexual health education that is inclusive and affirming of all sexual identities should be taught, both during the pandemic and after.

Batell explained sex education is much more than 'the birds and the bees.' It covers healthy relationships, body autonomy, consent, hygiene and elements of social-emotional learning.

She believes this year is a unique opportunity to reinforce lessons on health and safety, given the parallels between COVID-19 and sexual health.

"There are topics like risk reduction and using barrier methods in order to mitigate risk of transmission of infection," Batell said. "And lessons about how we talk to others, about what activities we're comfortable with, and how we keep ourselves and others safe."

Since most teens already have the internet at their fingertips, Batell encourages teachers to discuss with students how they can safely research accurate sexual-health information online.

"Online communication spaces, texting, video chats, online dating apps; how can we teach kids how to effectively use those, and how they relate to healthy relationships and all those topic areas that come up in HIV and sex-ed?" Batell said.

She added another advantage to online sex-ed is parents can more easily see, and better reinforce, the lessons in their student's life.

Vending machines commonly found in workplace break rooms generally contain soft drinks or snacks but one machine in Indianapolis dispenses unconventional items at the turn of a knob.

The Plan B morning-after pill, pregnancy tests and condoms are displayed in a clear glass case inside a colorful blue and orange dispenser. The items provide easy access to protection against an unwanted pregnancy and are free of charge.

Melissa Gruver, organizing director of the feminist organization Indiana Task FORCE, said it operates like a traditional vending machine.

"You just push whenever you want and it falls down, and you reach your hand through the little door and you pull it out, take it with you," Gruver explained.

A 2022 Indiana Department of Health Termination Report indicated 9,600 pregnancies were aborted, with Marion County recording the highest number of unwanted pregnancies. The report also noted the average age of a woman in Indiana who sought an abortion was 27, and 67% of all terminated pregnancies occurred within four to eight weeks of conception.

The state's contentious near-total abortion ban, which was upheld by the Indiana Supreme Court last year, has stoked fears lawmakers may begin restricting a woman's choice of birth control.

Indiana Task FORCE and reproductive health groups All-Options and the Midwest Access Coalition want the emergency contraceptive vending machine to serve as a gathering spot for community conversations on reproductive rights and sexual health.

"We've long been organizing our communities to bring about reproductive justice, which we didn't have before and we definitely don't have it now," Gruver pointed out. "But what we know to be true is that there are more of us that want access to reproductive care than those that try to stop it. We're excited to continue to work to meet this need now, and to organize for a better community."

Gruver hopes to have one dispenser in every Indiana region in the future to add to the single machine currently in an eastside Indianapolis grocery store. She added some universities in the state already have vending machines offering similar contraception products but users have to purchase the items.

This story is based on original reporting by Mary Claire Molloy for Mirror Indy.


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