Should Young Teens be Given Contraception without Parental Consultation?

Question

This is exactly what did happen in an Australian school this week.

The article can be found here:

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24258811-2862,00.html

In brief:

Secondary College principal yesterday defended the school nurse who arranged for the 14-year-old pupil to see a doctor without her mother's knowledge.

He said in a statement the school was bound by guidelines and regulations to protect students' privacy and welfare.

The girl's mother, who cannot be identified, is outraged the school took her daughter to a GP to get the Pill without informing her.

"I'm her parent . . . I deserve the right to know what my child is taking, and any parent should know if their child is on any medication,"

The federal Health Services Act provided for doctor-patient confidentiality in all cases, no matter what age the patient was.

The school encouraged students to speak with their parents.

"Where this is not possible, or the student refuses to do so and the student is deemed at serious risk, the wellbeing co-ordinators are obliged to assist the student in seeking medical advice"

What do you think?

Answer 1

Should young teens engage in s*x without parental consultation?

Making the choice to be sexually active is a private matter between those involved, this teen has displayed maturity by seeking out at least one form of contraception.

During her visit to the doctor It is likely sexual health and condoms were discussed and encouraged, a positive thing for a teen.  

Did she admit to being sexually active?  

All the article states is that the mother learned her child was sexually active when her husband found the pills in a bag.

Seems this family may have trust and communication problems, there must be a reason why this teen felt she couldn't freely speak with her parents about contraception.  Is this family religious?

The school and nurse I believe have succeeded in their duty of care, a teen seeked medical advice and it was provided for her, after they encouraged her to speak with her parents.

I believe its easier for the mother to blame the school than it is for her to accept the fact that her little girl is growing up, becoming more independent and that she went to someone else for advice and help.

  

  

Answer 2

YES!! I understand where parents are coming from on this one too, don't worry. My mom didn't even want me to go in and get a pelvic exam until I was married because "that's for married women who are having s*x". I love my Mom to death, but that posed a huge problem for me when I wanted to be responsible for my s*x life, and was still on their insurance plan when I was 19 and started having s*x.  Parents may understandably disagree with their children having s*x at 14 (I know I would, although I don't share my mom's views), but you risk bringing a baby into a bad situation if you don't use birth control. This isn't a perfect world, and I'm all for minimizing damage in cases where children are involved (both the infants and their underage parents).  

Answer 3

i want to know if my child is on asprin..hey i am alergic to asprin..for real any meds should be okd by the parent or known so what if one of these girls developes a clot can the parent sue the doc? i would sue for not telling me to start with.birth control pills , what about condoms? what about this boy isnt right for you etc..bad mistake and i would have a fit

Answer 4

Who do you all think pays for these kiddies birth control pills?

It comes out of the tax payers money, I don't want to be paying taxes so some 14 year old tart can land free birth control.

I'd rather them hand out needed medication to old people if I'm gonna pay for anything.

Answer 5

I think the school nurse absolutely did the right and responsible thing here - Teen pregnancy is not the preferable option here!

It is the school nurse, not a stranger from the street!

Some parent's seem to think they own their children! Maybe that girls mother should think about why her daughter can't come to her for these things. Teenager's don't tell their parent's lots of things.... A school nurse is a very good next option for them.

Answer 6

I would rather kids didn't have s*x until they were mature enough to make wise decisions.  

The fact of the matter is they aren't going to wait.  I for one am tired of paying for other people's kids.  Welfare, EBT, whatever they call it now is never going to end.

I think it shows a degree of responsibility, and better than abortion, or another 14 yr old with a baby.  

Answer 7

I never agree with letting the government tell parents how to raise there kids, regardless of how much I agree with the social issue or see its benefits to the people who receive it

I'm going to have to go with Parental notification and some kind of opt out policy on this one

edit- but to specificaly address the article, this is way outside of what a school should be doing for a student what if the girl had some kind of serious complication from the pill, got an STD from not using other safer methods, or got pregnent from not using the pill right and the parent wasn't allowed to monitor its usage? 14 year old don't have the right to make those kind of choices for themselves

Answer 8

No.  The child is ultimately the parent's responsibly.  This is a medical situation not simply ethics and should be treated as such.  The parents best know the child's medical history and any conditions that may interfere with prescription medicines.  Though it is rare among young teens, complications with birth control methods are possible.  Then who is responsible?

Most schools cannot even dispense basic pain killers (Tylenol, Advil, etc.) without parents consent.  

I do agree with others though.  The child should be talking to the parents about this, but in all reality...why does a 7th grader need birth control?  Are the parents even available to talk to? A parent's lack of guidance and participation in the child's life may be the reason a middle-schooler wants birth control in the first place.

Answer 9

A minor child can't get a tattoo, get her ears pierced or go on a school field trip without parental permission, yet a school principal had no qualms about obtaining an invasive pelvic exam, and artificial hormones for a student??  That is completely outrageous.  While parents are still responsible for their children (under 18), a school has no business subverting that authority.  If schools want to make condoms available in the nurse's office, that's one thing, but to seek unauthorized medical services for a child is going far beyond their bounds.  What has this world come to that we are afraid to tell a fourteen year old child that he or she is too young to be having s*x?

Answer 10

Hard question to answer- I agree with the school somewhat. It is very hard for a parent to believe there children are sexual beings and they really don't want them on contraception BUT they do want them protected. They are guaranteed privacy in reproductive issues.

But parents should know what meds their child is taking. The child might not be aware of an increased family risk of CA. I would want to make sure my child is not in a abusive relationship or being taken advantage of. Fourteen is very young but not too young to be pregnant.

Answer 11

I view it as the lesser of 2 evils.

Certainly it would be preferable for the teen to work through her parents to obtain birth control, but if there is a barrier there, I support the actions of the nurse who made the referral.

In a 14 year old, the risks of pregnancy are greater than the risks of hormonal birth control.  The nurse acted in the best interests of the girl.

We need to accept that teenagers ARE making the choice to engage in s*x, whether the parent likes it or not, and if they display enough responsibility to seek birth control, they should be given access to it by whatever reasonable means necessary.

The parent's outrage is probably more about loss of control than anything else.  It's hard for parents to accept that their children may have different values than what the parents *want* them to have.

Answer 12

Why are youth denied the agency to their bodies?

Surely, a caring parent wants to know what is happening with their child, but it is not the school's place to divulge this against the will of a fully thinking and self-aware youth. It is up to any parent to forge a relationship of trust and honesty with their child so that said youth will go to their parents first.

If for whatever reason this student did not feel comfortable approaching her mother, I think it's great that the school assisted her. Had they refused, that is not a guarantee that the youth would have approached the parent, and we might have a pregnant 14 year old on our hands.

In Canada age of consent is 14 years old, so that situation would have been completely legal here and most parents are perfectly comfortable with that.

It is not the school's place to inform the parents of their children's private medical matters. Every youth has a right to the agency of their own body, and if schools begin reporting this to parents, not only are we teaching our youth that they have no right to their own body and that they don't have a right to privacy, but we're also teaching them that approaching an adult you trust is the wrong thing to do. What kind of message is that?

Young boys and girls can get condoms in gas stations bathroom distributors for a dollar no questions asked. Is it really such a problem that we're providing more realiable birth control in a context of informed consent to our sexually active youth? If she is speaking with a doctor, they will both be exploring any medical history, and she is taking moral and legal responsibility for her choices.

Sure, I'd be hurt if my daughter went to someone else instead of me, but I'd be happy she was informed by a professional, and had the good sense to get birth control before having s*x. I think it's a good thing to encourage youth to make their own decisions with some guidance, and parents may not always be the best people to offer that guidance. In the case of birth control, a doctor is an appropriate choice.

Doctor-patient confindentially is more important than any parent's perceived right to own and control their children's bodies.

Answer 13

Yes.

Well meaning parents will deny their children contraception and wind up with a knocked up teenager.

Teenagers have s*x. That's all there is to it.

Answer 14

The laws regarding confidentiality are very clear in Australia. At 14 a girl is well within her rights to gain contraceptives without her parents knowledge, furthermore if a health care professional was to tell her parents then she could sue the health care worker for breach of confidentiality.

I parent does not have the "right" to know what their child is taking and a parent should develop a relationship of trust where discussions on contraceptive methods are open and honest and do not result in a parent lecturing the child on what the parent believes.

Personally I have more of an issue with parents pushing dangerous beliefs onto their teenagers (such as banning the child from getting the contraceptive or taking it) than with parents being kept out of the loop.

It should be realised that teenagers are strongly urged to keep their parents informed (especially useful if there is a medical emergency) but ultimately it is up to the teenager.

Answer 15

I believe in personal, individual rights - for all.  And that includes 14 year olds.  She was intelligent and mature enough to seek assistance in preventing pregnancy.  

If her mother is up in arms, perhaps she should ask herself what kind of relationship they have, and what kind of parenting she has done, that her daughter could not come to her first......

Answer 16

In most parts of the US, it's legal for a teenage girl can go to the gynecologist's on her own and get birth control without her parents' knowledge.

I concur with whoever said that they would rather have their child on birth control without their knowledge than have them come home at 16 with a positive pregnancy test. I would also like to add that while it would be ideal if all teenagers could talk to their parents about birth control (Like I was able to; I was very fortunate in that respect), some kids simply cannot talk to their parents about that without risking abuse or worse. I knew one girl in high school (I guess it's called college in the UK) who's father called her a s**t and beat her up for wanting to buy an adult bra (at 15, I might add). I can't imagine what he might have done if she had come to him telling him she needed birth control or was pregnant. Fortunately she never had to.  

Answer 17

I think that parents should spare the outrage and maybe ask themselves "why can't my own child come to me with these questions?"

Yes I would want to know if my daughter was on birth control. But ultimately I'd rather have her under the guidance of a doctor without my knowledge than coming home pregnant at 16.  

Answer 18

If the kid is sexually active or plans to be, and feels they can't approach the parents for whatever reason, it's obviously better if they can access reliable contraception than have an unwanted pregnancy.

Of course, ideally the kid should speak with their parents and talk through these kind of important decisions, but in the real world it doesn't always work out that way.

From the sounds of the mother in the article, her daughter's request would have been a huge drama rather than a chance for sensible education. The kid obviously knew this.

ALSO, I think under Australian law a 14 year old can go to the doctor without parental consent or involvement, in which case the school was only doing what the law allows and provides for, which was to arrange a doctor's visit. The school nurse did NOT give out the medication, which would be illegal and very stupid!

Cheers :-)

Answer 19

It's a complicated issue. I'm fine with schools handing out condoms, dental dams, Leah's Shield, etc; barrier methods are fine. But hormonal methods can in some cases pose serious threats to a person's health, especially if there's a family history of certain problems... It's something the parent should know about. In the case you mentioned, though, it sounds like the girl would have had s*x anyway. Better that she do so while on the Pill.

Planned Parenthood can provide the same services, also anonymously. I think that's a bit different because if someone takes the time to schedule an appointment herself, she's probably done her research.

Answer 20

It would be irresponsible not to provide education and a method of birth control preferably condoms to protect against the spread of disease.  This is referred to as harm reduction strategies.