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Minors Should Be Able to Purchase Birth Control Without Parental Consent

Department of General Studies and Behavioural Sciences, University of the

Commonwealth Caribbean

Vanise S. Thilmutt, Shanice D. Walton, Charnette A. Willie, and Tamasha T. Smith

Ms. Shalieka Burris

April 8, 2021
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'You are too young for sex.' It seems to be the cry of advocates who disagree with Minors

purchasing birth control, but can you effectively stop minors from having sex by leveraging

parental consent to purchase birth control? Parental consent is defined as an informed agreement

given by a parent on behalf of a minor or incompetent child in major or petty matters (Fioravanti,

2018). The passing of legislation by the Government to make provision for minors purchasing

birth control without parental consent is an age-old debate, with supporters of the practice

arguing that parents should restrict minors from purchasing birth control. However, legislators in

various countries are reviewing their laws on legalizing minors purchasing birth control due to

the associated adverse effects. Hence, minors should be able to purchase birth control without

parental consent because it will significantly reduce the fear of parental abuse and enable minors

to access vital reproductive health care services confidentially.

Firstly, minors should be able to purchase birth control without parental consent because

it will significantly reduce the fear of parental abuse. Can you imagine a world where sexually

active minors neglect their reproductive health because of their fear of parental abuse? It is

astonishing how parents expect their children to confide in them to protect their reproductive

health when all they can think about is being humiliated, neglected, rejected, and in some cases,

being physically abused. Doesn't this stand to reason that restriction breathes defiance?

According to the American Academy and Pediatrics (2018), studies reveal, minors are most

likely to experience neglect when parental consent is required to purchase birth control. If the

legislators in Jamaica permit minors to purchase birth control freely, it will give them the ability

to protect themselves without the fear of being neglected or mistreated, especially by distressed
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parents who are part of the statics of low-income families. Additionally, minors avoid birth

control because of the fear of parental judgment associated with cultural beliefs. In a survey

conducted, seven out of ten teens refused to use birth control because they are afraid of parental

judgment or verbal abuse (Wallace, 2015). Furthermore, giving minors consent to access birth

control will help reduce fear and low self-esteem, which are self-destructive traits associated

with parental judgment. Moreover, minors' provision to purchase birth control confidently would

significantly reduce the behavioral disorder developed amongst minors who experience abuse

(Crawford et al., 2009). Therefore, it is believed that minors should be able to purchase birth

control without parental consent because it will substantially reduce the fear of parental abuse.

Secondly, minors should be able to purchase birth control without parental consent as this

allows them to access vital reproductive health services confidentially. "One of the primary

barriers to youth accessing contraception is concern about confidentiality" (Mermelstein & Plax,

2016). They alluded to a previous study among minors in a family planning clinic that revealed

59% would stop going to the clinic if parental notification were required. A study done by

Behmer Hansen & Arora (2018) delved into the topic of long-acting reversible contraception

(LARC). It concluded that minors be afforded the right to access contraception in confidential

and private means in the USA. So, why not have our health care professionals in Jamaica offer

the same services to minors? Abortion is illegal in Jamaica; however, minors are getting the

services done discreetly; yet birth control is legal, and minors cannot access it without parental

consent. If the age of consent is 16 years, are we saying it is legal to have sex without parental

consent? Yet, you cannot protect yourself against pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases

without their consent. Minors should not be having sex, but they are. The goal should be to
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ensure that access to birth control is safe and effective and everyone is afforded the same health

care regardless of age. Therefore, it is strongly argued that minors should access birth control

without parental consent because it allows them to access vital reproductive health services

confidentially.

While it is argued that minors should be able to purchase birth control without parental

consent, others may argue that they should not be allowed to purchase birth control without

parental consent because it will increase their rate of sexual activities. According to Mulligan

(2016), the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth indicates that risky sexual behavior such as

engaging in unprotected sex and the number of sexual encounters increases because of over-the-

counter access to Emergency Birth Control, which is consistent with the state-level Sexual

Transmitted Diseases findings. Like any other preventative methods, contraceptives have their

risk, and minors are not fully aware of all the risks associated with them. With any other service,

minors require permission from their parents. Why should there be an exception with accessing

contraceptives? It is also argued that teens who have access to birth control usually progress

faster with initiating sex in their relationships and find it difficult to stop once it has moved to

that stage (Arcidiacono et al.,2015). Adults struggle to decide whether to abstain, so how can we

expect our minors to control their sexual urges fully. Therefore, the potential increase in sexual

activities amongst minors is why some may claim that they should not access birth control

without consent.

While it may be true that allowing minors to purchase birth control without parental

consent can lead to an increased rate of sexual activity amongst minors, it is better to give them
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the freedom to purchase without parental consent. Practiced in the United States and other

developed countries, schools can implement curriculum-based sex education programs to address

emotional regulation skills regarding decision-making about sexual behaviors (Ford & Jaccard,

2018). School is a development period for minors. It is usually at this stage that sexual initiation

occurs, so if schools are supposed to help prepare our young adolescents for the world, why not

prepare them for everything, including sex? Although it is argued that teenagers are unaware of

all the risks of sexual activities, Jamaica can implement school-based and school-linked clinics to

provide clinical instructional programs with one and one consultation with medical practitioners

(Leung & Lin, 2019). It will allow minors to be fully informed of all the risks associated with

sexual activities. Therefore, while some may argue that minors should not purchase birth control

without parental consent because it can lead to an increased rate of sexual activity, there are

solutions to reduce the rate.

Stipulating that minors need parental consent to purchase birth control will not deter them

from having sex. Instead, they are exposed to sexually transmitted diseases and, to some extent,

no access to vital health services. A simple remedy for this is unrestricted access to birth control

for minors without parental consent. Not only does it reduce the fear of parental abuse, but it also

allows them to access vital reproductive health services. So, babies having babies or free access?

You choose!
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References

The American Academy of Pediatrics. (2018). Child abuse and neglect.

[Link]. [Link]

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Arcidiacono, P., Khwaja, A., & Ouyang, L. (2012). Habit persistence and teen sex: Could

increase access to contraception have unintended consequences for teen pregnancies?

Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, 30(2), 312-325.

[Link]

Behmer Hansen, R. T., & Arora, K. S. (2018). Consenting to invasive contraceptives: An ethical

analysis of adolescent decision-making authority for long-acting reversible

contraception. Journal of Medical Ethics, 44(9), 585-

588. [Link]

Crawford, T. V., McGrowder, D. A., & Crawford, A. (2009). Access to contraception by minors

in Jamaica: a public health concern. North American journal of medical sciences, 1(5),

247–255. [Link]

Fioravanti, J. (2018, September 25). Obtaining child assent and parental consent. Swarthmore

Home: Swarthmore College. [Link]

board/obtaining-child-assent-and-parental-consent

Ford, C. A., & Jaccard, J. (2018). New skills to reduce sexual risk behaviors among young

adolescents. Pediatrics, 141(6), e20174143. [Link]

Jamaica Family Planning Board. (2017). Recommendations for the Revision of the Sexual

Offences Act. Houses of

Parliament. [Link]

%20Jamaca%20Family%20Planning%[Link]

Leung, H., & Lin, L. (2019). Adolescent sexual risk behavior in Hong Kong: Prevalence,

protective factors, and sex education programs. Journal of Adolescent Health, 64(6),

S52-S58. [Link]

Mermelstein, S., & Plax, K. (2016). Contraception for adolescents. Current Treatment Options

in Pediatrics, 2(3), 171-183. [Link]

Mulligan, K. (2015). Access to emergency contraception and its impact on fertility and sexual

behavior. Health Economics, 25(4), 455-469. [Link]

Wallace, K. (2015, May 8). Survey: Parents are why teens don't use birth control.

CNN. [Link]

parents/[Link]