Grounded in the Reality of their Lives: Listening to Teens Who Made the Abortion Decision Without Involving their Parents

The Adolescent’s Right to Confidential Care When Considering Abortion

“…55 For example, in a study in Massachusetts minors who chose not to inform a parent, almost one-quarter feared that they would face family conflict, physical harm, or other abuse if they told a parent about the pregnancy. 59 In Hodgson v Minnesota, the majority of the Supreme Court found that mandatory parental involvement can result in family upheaval and can be dangerous for minors in homes in which physical, emotional, or sexual abuse occurs. 31,60 Research on abusive and dysfunctional families shows that violence is at its worst during a family member's pregnancy and during the adolescence of the family's children.…”

“…61 The risks of violence, abuse, coercion, unresolved conflict, and rejection are significant in nonsupportive or dysfunctional families when parents are informed of a pregnancy against the adolescent's considered judgment. 55,59,60,62,63 There is no evidence that mandatory parental involvement results in the benefits to the family intended by 50 In states with such laws, adolescents who are not willing to inform parents use judicial bypass mechanisms, 51 go out of state to obtain abortion services, 66 obtain clandestine care, 67 or delay care. 61,68 …”

“…61 Qualitative research with adolescents has confirmed these views. 59,110 For example, a study in 30 minors presenting for an abortion asked about their attitudes toward judicial bypass. Respondents cited several ways that judicial bypass procedures created obstacles to abortion access, including the need to navigate the court system, travel to the courthouse, confide in a judge, and forfeit privacy.…”

Advancing adolescent capacity to consent to transgender-related health care in Colombia and the USA

“…17 Traditionally, that responsibility has fallen to parents, an assignment rooted in the dominant vision of the family as an integrated and harmonious whole, in which children do not exist apart from their parents and within which the state has very limited ability to interfere. 18 A parent's broad constitutional right to the care and custody of a child includes making decisions for minor children on a wide range of issues, including where they will live, what school they will attend and what health care they will receive. 8 Parents control and provide care for their children and, as a result, children obey parental direction because they depend on adults for privilege and access to resources.…”

Consent and Confidentiality in Clinical Work with Young People

“…Much of the discussion regarding confidentiality for adolescents centres around issues of family planning and sexual health (American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Adolescence, 1996; Bertuglia, 2001;Brindis & English, 2004;Ehrlich, 2003). It has been widely accepted that adolescents are entitled to confidentiality with regard to sexual health and family planning (American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Adolescence, 1996).…”