Majority of Parents Are Aware

Proposed legislation would require parental notification for minors obtaining prescription contraception from federally funded family planning clinics.

In 2001, an estimated 917,000 female minors obtained family planning services at such clinics. This study was conducted to determine the impact of a parental notification mandate on teens seeking these services.

Sixty percent of minors reported that a parent or guardian knew they were accessing sexual health services at the clinic. Fifty-nine percent of all adolescents said they would use the clinic for prescription contraception even if parental notification were mandated.

This response was less common (29.5 percent) among adolescents whose parents did not know about their clinic visits and more common (79 percent) among those whose parents knew. Many adolescents gave more than one response to mandated parental involvement.

Only 1 Percent Would Abstain Completely

Forty-six percent said they would use an over-the-counter method for contraception -- such as condoms -- and 18 percent indicated they would go to a private physician. Seven percent said they would stop having sex as one response, but only 1 percent indicated this would be their only reaction.

The researchers found that 18 percent of teenagers would engage in risky sexual behavior (e.g., no method of contraception) if parental involvement were mandated; 5 percent would forgo sexually transmitted disease (STD) services.

"[T]his research confirms that parental involvement laws for minors seeking prescription contraception in family planning clinics would discourage few teenagers from having sex and would likely increase rates of adolescent pregnancy and STDs," the authors write.