Teenagers in Texas seeking birth control are grappling with a seismic policy shift. A federal program that once allowed minors to get contraception without parental consent is no more, after a recent ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. For years, the Title X program was the lone exception in a state requiring parental approval for these health services. Teens are left hanging, and clinics that saw this as a "lifeline" now report declines in their numbers, according to The Texas Tribune.
Access Esperanza Clinics in the Rio Grande Valley, previously a haven where teens could discretely receive contraception, now face the daunting task of enforcing parental consent. Patricio Gonzalez, the CEO of Access Esperanza, revealed in an interview with The Texas Tribune that appointments which ran up to two hours included counseling on STIs, healthy relationships, and beyond, doubling as crucial sex education sessions. For many teens, "this is often the first time teens have thought about how reproductive health decisions can impact their plans," Gonzalez stated, highlighting the lack of mandatory sex education in the state.
The federal ruling came as a result of a lawsuit initiated by Amarillo man Alexander Deanda, who, with the legal muscle of Jonathan Mitchell, a former solicitor general of Texas, claimed Title X defied his rights as a parent under state law. The lawsuit, which has had far-reaching implications for Texas' 156 Title X clinics, stemmed from Deanda's concern over his daughters potentially accessing birth control without his consent, as detailed in Raw Story.
Impacts of the appeals court ruling echo through the state. Clinics that doubled as entry points for teens into the health care system have seen a 50% drop in appointments for contraception, said Dr. Luis Garza, chief medical officer at Project Vida in El Paso,as per The Texas Tribune. Garza warns of the broader public health repercussions, such as a rise in teen pregnancies and increased Medicaid expenditure. "Unwanted teenage pregnancies are going to lead to people dropping out of school, single parent homes, and then the strain that it puts on the health care system," Garza commented.
