While the Cambridge School Committee has delayed a final verdict, the debate over contraceptive distribution to high school students remains an issue of much contention in the city.

On Tuesday, the school committee deferred a decision on a proposal allowing Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School to expand their program for distributing birth control devices. The committee instead scheduled a public hearing on November 30.

Currently, students can obtain condoms directly from the school's Teen Health Center (THC)--an on-campus branch of Cambridge Hospital. For any other types of contraceptives, however, they must obtain prescriptions which can only be filled at a city pharmacy.

The new proposal would give students direct access to daily birth control pills; Depo Provera, a three-month injection; and Norplant, an implant which lasts for about five years.

If the plan is approved, Cambridge Rindge and Latin would become the first public high school in the state to distribute a variety of contraceptives. Already in 1990, Rindge and Latin became the first public high school in Massachusetts to distribute condoms.

But the new plan, drafted by the Cambridge Health Policy Board, has sparked a spirited debate among both students, parents, and community members at large.

Widespread Student Support

Students who support the proposal say it is necessary to halt teen-age pregnancies which could have devastating future consequences.

"It's your life and you don't have much of one if you're forced to drop of school or care for an unwanted baby," said senior Sheila Kadagathur. Since teens are sexually active "the solution is not to withhold birth control."

A 1992 survey taken by the THC showed that sexual activity among Rindge and Latin students remained stable at 51% in 1989 and 50% in 1992. At the same time, the condom use rose from 54 to 77 percent.

But while condom use has increased, the survey showed nearly 25% of students still practice unprotected sex. For that reason, additional forms of birth control should be made available, said Barbara Ackerman, chair of the Cambridge Health Policy Board.

"We need to protect the women who engage in sex with men who don't use a condom," Ackerman said. "Also, condoms have a 15% failure rate while the pill is virtually failsafe."

Several people said that providing students with all types of contraceptives through the health center is the only way to ensure students will use them.

"People are not getting their pre- Lscriptions filled, not consistently getting protection, and there are many factors we can't control," said Elizabeth Miller, medical director for THC.

"We want to practice effective reproductive health care like any other hospital clinic. At every other facility in the city you can get birth control services," she added. "The high school should be no exception."

Parents and Teachers Doubtful