Writer's Block: Old enough ...
Do you think parents have a right to know if their teenager is taking birth control pills? What are the potential consequences of requiring parental consent?
Submitted By ch3riblossom
View 742 Answers
Well, to take 'right' in the strictly legal sense, the answer (in the UK at least) is an unequivocal 'No'. If, in the opinion of a qualified medical professional, the teen in question has proven themselves to fully appreciate the implications of what they are doing, then no parental involvement is necassary, and this goes for any medical treatment. Parents have no more rights than are necessary to promote and safeguard the welfare of their child as the child themself is not yet capable of doing so. (and, obviously, if someone has the right to consent to medical treatment, then they also have the right to doctor-patient confidentiality. You cannot give someone half of medical capacity)
Whether or not parents should have the right to know, or to give their consent on these things is another matter. Personally, I think I agree with the law on this one; it should be decided, to a degree, on an individual basis: if a person has proven themselves to be mature and capable enough to understand their own best interests, then there is no need (and, imo, little to no justification) for anyone else to have the right to decide for them.
With regards to possible consequences, there is the ovbious case that it has been proven time and time again that preventing teens from accessing contraceptives does not stop them from having sex and is therefore counterproductive and, frankly, downright irresponsible.
Although, really, the most responsible thing to do is to encourage parents and teens to discuss these things openly so that parents can trust their children enough that they don't have to be informed by a third party of what they are doing and so that teenagers don't have to feel the need to hide things from their parents. By all means, if your parents are reasonable you should inform them if you are taking birth control pills, not because it's their right to know, but because it encourages mutual respectand potentially allows you the benefit of their guidance. But alas, we don't live in such a perfect world. Not all parents are reasonable when it comes to these things and in many cases it might, in fact, be in the teen's best interest to not tell them. Ultimately, that is for the teenager to decide for his or her self.