A program that allows teenagers to acquire birth contraception without the approval of their parents has been deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge in Texas, casting doubt on the program’s ability to continue.
According to James Barragán, a reporter for The Texas Tribune who covers politics, “for the longest time… If you were a young person who engaged in sexual behavior, you did not need parental consent to go and have access”. This was made feasible by the government’s Title X program. However, the United States District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk issued a ruling against such an arrangement at the end of December, stating that “it is infringing parental rights”. As a result, this has the potential to completely alter the course of play here. As a result of the judgment, Title X clinics in the state of Texas have discontinued their practice of administering birth control drugs to adolescents in a discreet manner.
Barragán mentions the fact that the verdict is currently being appealed at the federal level. If that verdict is upheld, he says it “clearly may have a lot of repercussions – particularly in a place where our teen pregnancy rate is very, very high.” He is referring to the state of California, which has a very high teen pregnancy rate.
