Most young girls are required to tell their parents where they are going, when they are going to be home and with whom they are going. Parents have access to their academic and medical records until college and the list goes on, but where are the limits to what parents should know?
Republican state Reps. Glenn Grothman, Scott Fitzgerald, Neal Kedzie, Mary Lazich, Joseph Leibham, Thomas Reynolds, Cathy Stepp and David Zien are concerned with government-funded clinics that provide birth control to minors without charge and without parental consent. Under anti-abortion representation, Wisconsin has many arguing that by making birth control more readily available to young girls, the clinics promote sexual promiscuity.
Sexual promiscuity or safe sex? Programs such as Planned Parenthood have worked with low-income families and minors for years, making contraceptives such as the pill and the Depo-Provera shot more affordable and easier to obtain, making safe sex an easier choice. A recent bill proposed in the state Senate threatens to pull funding from programs such as this and remove the eligibility of girls ages 15 to 17 altogether. It needs to be thrown out now.
Assembly Bill 991/Senate Bill 552 not only threatens the funding available to clinics that provide low-income families and young girls with contraceptives, but it threatens the confidentiality rights of young girls who wish to receive the contraceptives without consent from a parent. Taking away the only means of controlling teen pregnancy (contraception) is both stupid and harmful. I sympathize with parents that are uncomfortable with their child receiving medical attention without their knowledge, but at some point parents need to understand the delicacy of the matter and be happy their child is responsible enough to seek care at all.
A study done in January 2005 by the Alan Guttmacher Institute on girls under the age of 18 in 33 states provided evidence suggesting that in many cases, teens would forego protection, not sexual activity, if parental consent were required to obtain birth control. I would assume this is not the intention of the government and parents. All sexual activity among minors will not end with restrictions on birth control. Safe sex will be the only aspect of sexual activity to end.
Many anti-abortion advocates are upset with how easy it is for young girls to receive the protective measures, but the availability of condoms has received no opposition. Condoms are displayed at drug stores, gas stations and grocery stores, and not many can say they have never heard the catchy commercial tune introducing Trojan Man.\ Female contraceptives should not be the only restricted form of protection. And female protection should not be the only thing at risk of regulation here.
When it comes to the reproductive rights of women, the government is too quick to put a ban on everything with which they disagree. Many argue we are promoting sexual promiscuity by making birth control easier for young girls to acquire; But in reality, making birth control harder to obtain facilitates teen pregnancy and unsafe sex.
There has to be a middle ground that would not counteract the confidentiality rights of teens. Parental consent should be encouraged but not mandated. Teens should be counseled about risks associated with contraceptives and the many different methods available to girls, but they should not be restricted in means of acquiring the contraceptives. If teens were instead persuaded by clinics to discuss the situation with parents, they may be more open to the idea of talking about it.
Sexual activity is a private matter and an uncomfortable topic of conversation for parents. The decisions that young girls make regarding sex cannot be made, only influenced, by those close to them. Girls responsible enough to attend a clinic, seek care and protective measures and receive advice regarding sexual activity should not be punished for their actions. AB-991/SB-55 may intend to suppress sexual activity among teens, but its resolutions are unfair. By cutting the funding of clinics that promote safe sex among various groups of women, unsafe sex becomes the only alternative for many. And until the day young boys have to retrieve a note from their parents to buy condoms, leave the young girls alone.
Kaitlyn Farell is a sophomore majoring in journalism and political science. Send comments to opinion@dailycardinal.com.\
