An informational look at parental involvement laws and the status of confidential reproductive care for minors.
Minors Postpone or Avoid Medical Care
Birth control, pre-natal care and abortion services are delayed, if not abandoned, if minors learn that some kind of parental involvement, either notification or consent, is required.
Minors Resort to Dangerous Treatment Rather Than Tell a Parent
According to information gathered by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, delayed services, illegal abortion, self-induced abortion and out-of-state services are more frequent in states with parental involvement laws. Most parents would rather have a living child with a secret, than a child who dies from receiving sub-standard health care while trying to protect her privacy.
Health Suffers
Without basic reproductive health care readily and confidentially available, young people suffer more frequently from sexually transmitted infections, HIV-AIDS, unintended pregnancy, low birth-weight babies and oppressive poverty.
Communication Cannot Be Mandated
No law can make teens trust their parents, and not all parents deserve their child’s trust. Minors can be victims of incest or other violence and be certain that they would be in danger if their pregnancy or illness was discovered. About 80% of teens tell a parent of a pregnancy.
Barriers to Service Do Not Reduce Sexual Activity
Teens most often seek out birth control after sexual activity has begun. Several respected studies have shown that easy access to birth control does not increase sexual activity.
Privacy is Guaranteed By Our Constitution
The 1977 the US Supreme Court ruling in Carey v Population Services International found that the “ right to privacy in connection to decisions affecting procreation extends to minors as well as adults.” The New Jersey Supreme Court, in October of 2000, found that “A notification statute can operate as a functional bar to a minor’s exercise of her constitutional right to make her own reproductive decisions.”
Federal Statutes Mandate Confidentiality
Family planning clinics which receive federal Title X funding are required to offer services regardless of the age or financial status of the patient.
Four Special Categories of Care Protect Minor’s Health
Not all health care services require parental involvement. There are four categories that are exceptions to a parent’s right to know: HIV-AIDS treatment, drug and alcohol addiction treatment, mental health care and reproductive health care. Placing obstacles in young people’s way in these areas of care is recognized by health care professionals as unwise and dangerous.
Parental Involvement Laws in New Jersey
In 2000, the NJ Supreme Court overturned the Parental Notification for Abortion Act in Planned Parenthood v. Farmer. This act would have required that minors notify a parent or go to court before they were able to obtain an abortion. It would not have required minors to take these steps if they chose to continue their pregnancy. However, the right of a minor to confidential reproductive care is still under threat as a result of a proposed constitutional amendment which would require parental notification. You can read about this bill here.
Medical Groups in Support of Privacy for Minors Include: American Medical Association, American Public Health Association, Society for Adolescent Medicine, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Nurse Midwives, American Psychological Association and American Nurses Association.
