Contraceptive Consent

If teens had to get permission from their parents to get prescription birth control, would they ask their mom or dad? “Probably not,” says Rachel, 14.

“Because that would insinuate that I was having sex, and my mom would just freak out about that,” says Kirstin, 14.

“I think most of them would either find a way to get the pill without asking their parents by some illegal ways that could be unsafe, or they would just go ahead and have sex without the pill,” says Polly, 16.

In McHenry County, Ill., the health department passed a law requiring parental approval before minors could get the pill. According to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health, over the next three years the number of teenage pregnancies rose by over 17 percent. “In other counties that didn’t have this rule that didn’t occur,” says the study’s author Medeline Zavodny, Ph.D.

She says the law’s intent is to get teens to talk with their parents before making such a big decision as loosing their virginity. “I think every parent wants to be involved in their teen’s decisions, including decisions involving sexual activity and contraception. But I think that the study emphasizes that there can be unintended consequences of policies that are very well intended,” says Dr. Zavodny.

Instead, she says parents should focus on policies inside their own home, a policy of frank discussion about the consequences of sexual activity: AIDS, STDs, unwanted pregnancies. And institute an open-door policy that lets kids know they can, and should, come first to parents with questions about sex and contraceptives.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. is the world’s largest voluntary reproductive health care organization. Each year, nearly five million women, men and teens visit local Planned Parenthood health centers. In fact, one-out-of-four women have visited Planned Parenthood at least once in their lifetimes.

About half of young female patients at family planning clinics said they would stop visiting these clinics if parental consent were required. Many of these young women would switch to non-prescription forms of birth control, like condoms, but some say they would continue to have sex but not use any form of contraception. A very small fraction said they would stop having sex. Consider these other statistics …

• The average age of first menstruation has fallen significantly in the last century. In 1840 it was 16.5; by the early 1990s it was 12.8. Therefore, today’s adolescent women who experiment sexually are more likely to become pregnant at much younger ages.
• For young people today, the time between the onset of puberty, fertility and the natural intensification of sexual feelings versus the point of marriage and economic independence spans many years. Therefore, people are engaging in sexual intercourse earlier in life.
• In late adolescence (17 to 21 years old), one is capable of forming mutually caring, intimate relationships based on trust, responsibility and consequences, and making individual decisions about sex.
• From 1991 to 2001, sexual experience decreased 16 percent among high school students, and the number of high school students with multiple sex partners (four or more in a lifetime) decreased 24 percent.
• One-third of teen boys admit feeling peer pressure to have sex. Most teens say waiting to have sex is a “nice idea,” but few wait. Nearly two-thirds of teens have sex before they graduate high school and 20 percent have sex before age 15.
• Forty percent of sexually active teens have taken a pregnancy test or had a partner who did so.

Children who feel they can talk to their parents about sex are less likely to engage in high-risk behavior. If you are uncomfortable with discussing the topic with your child, consider the websites listed below, reading books on the subject or talking with a trusted friend, relative, physician or clergy member. It’s okay to share your discomfort with your child; but it is very important to broach the subject with them, so they know they can come to you with questions. Some suggestions in talking with your child about sex include …

• Visiting www.talkingwithkids.org/sex.html, which contains comprehensive information for parents.
• Visiting sites — like www.positive.org and www.scarleteen.com — with your child to stimulate discussion, to learn facts together and to make sure the sites are legal and age-appropriate.
• Starting sexual discussion at an early age with simple, biological facts. Also, mention responsibility and the emotional aspects of sexual relationships.
• Speaking in an accurate and age-appropriate manner.
• Communicating your values.

American Journal of Public Health
The American Psychological Association
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Coalition for Positive Sexuality
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc.
Scarlet Teen
Talk With Your Kids