Minors_and_Contraception

Cherish Wyatt (012159165) Ecology, Pollution or Population Problems November 17, 2010 The Issue of Minors Having Access to Contraception For many years, there has been challenges in regards to laws protecting minors and their right to confidentiality within reproductive health services. The challenges include parents perception of their children having access to contraceptives promotes participating in sexual intercourse. On the other hand, minor children may not only seek contraceptives to protect from reproduction, but may also be needed to regulate monthly cycles. In 1985, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that a state-operated family planning center has no constitutional obligation to notify parents before providing contraceptive information, devices, and medication to their children (Bornstein, 2001). The plaintiffs parents in this particular case argued that their constitutional rights as parents to supervise the education and development of their minor children included the right to participate in their children’s decisions in regards to initiating sexual activity and assuming the substantial medical risk involved with the use of certain contraceptives. The court noticed that the case included many different conflicts due to minor children having the constitutional right of privacy, including the right to obtain contraceptives. Whereas parents have the constitutional right to the custody, care, and nurture of their children. The risk of limiting minor’s access to confidential health care through mandatory parental notification are high, but the greatest risk is that minor’s who need the care will not receive it and will experience negative outcomes, endangering their own health and often the public health as well (Ford & English, 2002). Due to the increase in the amount of unwanted pregnancies amongst present day youth, I feel that it is beneficial to maintain services where children can go to obtain contraceptive services without their parents being notified. I strongly suggest that when a minor is seeking contraceptives, there should be a mandatory screening by phone asking if parents are aware of the visit or not. If a parent is aware or not of the visit, I propose an optional counseling session between the minor, parent and staff member of the agency educating more on contraceptives and services. “More than one-third of teenagers who visit reproductive health care providers obtain services at publicly funded family planning clinics, and adolescent clients in these facilities are minority and low-income based” (Jones & Boonstra, 2004). This means that adolescents most in need of government funded reproductive health services would be affected by mandatory parental involvement. In 2001, there was a study conducted from three Planned Parenthood family planning clinics in Milwaukee. The study included sexually active girls under the age of 18 and were asked to complete a confidential survey asking if informing parents were required, would you stop using Planned Parenthood services' (Reddy, Fleming & Swain, 2002). 47% of the study reported that they would stop using all Planned Parenthood services if their parents were notified that they were seeking prescribed birth control pills or devices. This study identifies how the idea of having to mandatory inform parents of these services can be problematic. If parents are mandatory notified, many of those who were seeking contraceptives will then stop, significantly increasing the risk of pregnancy. My proposal would be implemented beginning at the minor’s first call to receive contraceptives. There would be a first time screening by phone, and that is where the agency would find out if the minor’s parent is aware of the scheduled visit or not. The first appointment would be the counseling session, then the second appointment including the administering of the contraceptives. This counseling session is optional, but would be beneficial for the minor to feel more comfortable about speaking with the parent about sex. The counseling session would be optional and not mandatory due to risk of having to inform a parent of a minor’s visit to seek contraceptives, could potentially cause a higher increase in teenage pregnancies because the minor may be reluctant to seek needed care if the parent is notified. If the minor’s parent does not know or if the minor’s parent is aware of the minor receiving contraceptive services, there would be a mandatory counseling session with the minor and a staff member. This session would be beneficial for educating on contraceptives and sexual intercourse. My proposal would be significant to society because it would significantly decrease teenage pregnancies. An advantage of this proposal is that it will continue to allow those who want to maintain the privacy of receiving contraceptives, but it also opens up an opportunity for a child to feel comfortable talking about contraceptives and protection with a parent and a stranger. There is no reason that efforts to strengthen communication between adolescents and their parents cannot take place. Having open communication is beneficial in all relationships and the more education on contraceptives the better. A disadvantage of the proposal would be if there is a chance of the minor wanting the parent to be involved, and the parent chooses not to. Another disadvantage would be that not all parents and minors will be able to communicate effectively and that some minors will not seek some services without assurance of privacy protection. I strongly believe that society will accept this proposal due to the fact that society likes having options. My proposal ensures a decrease in teenage pregnancy and provides the option of involving a parent or not to.