The Portland School Committee voted Wednesday to allow some pupils at a middle school to get birth control pills and patches at the student health center.

The proposal, offered by city health officials, makes King Middle School the first middle school in Maine to make a full range of contraception available to students in grades 6 through 8, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.

The board voted 5-2 for the proposal. Three student members of the school committee, representing each of Portland's three high schools, also voted "yes."

Chairman John Coyne voted against the measure, saying he felt providing the birth control was a parental responsibility. The other "no" vote came from Ben Meiklejohn, who said the consent form does not give a clear enough definition of the services being offered.

Opponents who spoke at the public meeting cited religious and health objections.

Condoms have been available since 2002 to King students who have parental permission to be treated at its student health center. Now those same student will have access to prescription methods.