Defeating a Law Harmful to Teens

Tully claimed that forcing teens to get consent from their parents to have prescriptions for contraceptives and other medications filled promotes the best interests of young people and improves family communications. Planned Parenthood of Central and Northern Arizona (PPCNA) and Planned Parenthood of Southern Arizona (PPSA) argued that the proposed law would have threatened adolescent health and well-being.

Teens who seek contraceptive services are generally sexually active and could be discouraged from seeking contraception if they were required to secure parental consent. Creating barriers to teen access to contraception is dangerous to the health and welfare of young women because it increases their risk of unplanned pregnancies.

According to a recent study by Dr. Madeline Zavodny, who was formerly with the Department of Economics, Occidental College, Los Angeles, "imposing a parental consent requirement for contraceptives... appears to raise the frequency of pregnancies and births among young women."

Arizona ranks second highest in the United States in the rate of teen pregnancies, and teen pregnancy contributes to the fact that Arizona has one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the nation. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are also rising among Arizona teens.

To successfully defeat the bill, PPCNA and PPSA helped to bring together organizations such as The Arizona Coalition on Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenting, NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona, Arizona Public Health Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, Arizona Chapter, the Arizona Nurses Association., Arizona Pharmacy Alliance, Business and Professional Women/Arizona, American Association of University Women-Arizona, Arizona Human Rights Fund, Arizona Academy of Family Physicians, Arizona Family Planning Council, the local chapter of the National Organization for Women, Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association, and the American Medical Association.

Currently, both Title X of the Public Health Service Act, which is the only federal program devoted solely to the provision of family planning and reproductive health care, and Medicaid, which covers health services for low-income women, prohibit parental consent requirements for teens seeking contraception. Both programs require that, in exchange for receiving funds from the federal government, clinicians must treat all patients, including teens, confidentially.

While programs with federal family planning money are prohibited from requiring parental consent or notification for teen services, teens are also guaranteed the right to privacy that protects their decision to obtain contraception. Courts have struck down attempts by states to impose parental consent requirements for contraceptive services that are funded by these programs because the courts have found that parental consent requirements conflict with program requirements.

Instead of proposing laws that could increase the rate of teen pregnancy and STIs, Tully should work to prevent unintended pregnancies and reduce the need for abortion by offering medically accurate sexuality education in the schools and improving funding for and access to contraceptive services and youth development programs. These programs are especially important for teens who are economically disadvantaged.

Policymakers must acknowledge the reality that some teens engage in sexual behavior, so the wisest and safest course of action would be to fund programs and interventions that facilitate responsible behavior.