Parents' Right to Know     7/12/2002
By Elizabeth Bossom

Thursday, July 11, marked the first-ever inquiry by the U.S. Congress into whether parents have a right to know when a child is receiving medical care at clinics funded by Title X, the federal government’s chief program for contraception distribution and abortion referral.

“Our county was forced to deal with the issue of parental notification when we found out that a 12-year-old junior high school student was getting chemical contraceptive shots because her 37-year-old teacher was raping her,” testified John Heisler, a member of Illinois’ McHenry County Board. The abusive teacher took the girl to a Title X program facility where federal regulations kept the parents from being informed.

Lawmakers who approved Title X never intended for clinics to keep parents in the dark, but two separate regulations, one that requires confidentiality and the other that promises care regardless of age, have been taken in tandem to mean that clinic healthcare workers must not disclose information to the parents of minor-aged clients.

Title X provides funding for contraceptives, abortion referrals and gynecological exams that can include breast and cervical cancer screenings, as well as testing for sexually transmitted diseases. The program was established in 1970 to provide family planning services to low-income women. Since minors generally have a low “personal” income, they qualify for the services regardless of their parents’ income. Now, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, roughly one-third of all Title X recipients are teenagers.

A broad spectrum of parents, health care workers and legislators are concerned that children are making adult decisions without the guidance and wisdom of their parents. “We are giving the government the de facto right to usurp or to take over the role of parents without the parents’ knowledge or consent when the child is a minor. That’s the way it’s set up now,” said Rep. Todd Akin (R-Missouri).

“The federal agency that administers Title X essentially gave the parents in McHenry County two options: Take Title X money and be kept in the dark about your kids or reject the money,” said Heisler. The County Board voted to no longer accept Title X funds.

But if county health boards refuse Title X funds, then other providers like Planned Parenthood may be chosen to administer services with the funds.

Addia Wuchner, a member of the Board of Directors of the Northern Kentucky Independent District Health Department, testified about the department’s one-vote margin decision in June not to reject Title X funds in the four counties it covers.

Wuchner, a registered nurse, believes parents have a right to be notified when a child is getting medical treatment or care in a Title X clinic. “Approximately 75 percent of the young women seen in our clinics are seen without parental notification,” said Wuchner who went on to mention that their clinics have treated girls as young as 12 years old.

“Throughout this formative period parents have the right and duty to guide their children well.” Changing Title X to include parental consent guidelines is a no-brainer, according to Wuchner, since schools already expect parental approval before dispensing aspirin. “Ask any mother or father who’ve had to provide a school nurse with written permission just to see their child gets a midday dose of Tylenol.”

“The first natural line of defense for the child is the parents, ” concluded Rep. Akin. “Doesn’t it seem logical to at least give parents the chance to be parents?”

For more information on this topic, see CWA’s press release on the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health hearings on Title X.