Published by Ruben on ContraceptionBlog.com, a project of the No Room for Contraception Campaign.
Angela Watkinson, a Member of Parliament, is presenting a parental consent bill on contraception and abortion to the House of Commons.
Watkinson stated "The first thing they learn may be when their children are reported to have some form of sexually transmitted disease." She further stated "People constantly call on parents to take more responsibility for their young - but they can hardly be blamed if the Department of Health promotes a policy which deliberately exempts them from being able to protect their children."
Here are some excerpts from the article Inform parents if children want contraception, says MP:
David Paton of Nottingham University Business School said that evidence from regions with laws requiring parents to be informed before abortion on minors suggested a considerable decrease in conceptions, abortions and sexually transmitted infections. He added that there was no evidence that parental involvement laws would result in minors turning to back street abortionists.Trevor Stammers, a senior tutor in general practice at St George's University of London, added: "Up to 80% of unplanned conceptions are due to failed contraception." "Over a 22-year period working as a GP, I had not seen a single case due to any other cause until the past year or so." "With a 15% condom failure rate, condoms can only be said to delay pregnancy, not prevent it, especially in teenagers."
It seems that we should be having this same debate here in the U.S. According to the study Analyzing the Effect of State Legislation on the Incidence of Abortion Among Minors, data indicates that parental involvement laws are effective in reducing the abortion rate for minors. (On that note, the author of this study, Professor Michael New, will be giving a lecture on this subject in DC this Thursday, the 15th of March).
I suspect that parental consent laws for contraception and abortion, coupled with abstinence-only eduction, can further reduce the pregnancy, abortion, and sexually transmitted disease infection rates among minors. But it has been difficult to enact parental involvement laws for abortion in the US, and it is probably going to be even harder to enact such laws for contraceptives.
As long as groups such as Planned Parenthood continue to receive federal funding under Title X, it is going to be hard to pass such measures in many states. Title X funding provides financial and operational stability for Planned Parenthood, allowing them to expand their efforts to include defeating parental consent initiatives.
Despite the potential difficulties in passing parental involvement laws, it's time to have this same debate here in the US.
