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CSUN SWRK 525 - Adolescents and Parental Notification for Abortion

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At least 20 leading medical and health care professional organizations have issued policy statements regarding the importance ofconfidentiality in protecting the health of adolescents by ensuring their access to health care, including confidential care, and pro-moting the quality of that care. Health care professionals strongly support the important role of parents and other adults in safe-guarding the health of adolescents. They also know that having an opportunity to offer confidential care enables health care pro-fessionals to learn to learn what they need to know about adolescents’ health and behaviors and to provide careful assessment and counseling. Many medical organizations are opposed to mandatory parental consent or notification laws that would severely restrict teenagers’ access to any health care that is essential to protect their health, including abortion and other repro-ductive health services.Medical o rganiz at io ns suppo rt t he impo rt ant ro le of parent s in a do le scent he a lt h c areHealth care professionals value the support and guidance that a parent can give to an adolescent patient. Many medical organizations have endorsed policy statements that health care providers should encourage their adolescent patients to inform and involve their parents in their health care decisions. Several medical organizations believe that health care providers should help to facilitate family communication as a way to enhance the confidence of both parents and teens as health care decision makers. Medical professionals also understand that some adolescents are not able to talk with their parents about health care decisions and that forcing teens to involve their parents would do more harm than good. Therefore, although voluntary involvement of parents by adolescents is strongly encouraged and desired by medical professionals, they also believe laws or policies mandating parental consent or notification are not in the best interests of adolescent patients. Adolescents should be encouraged to inform and involve their parents in their health care decisions and health care professionals should facilitate this communication.The importance of parental support should be balanced with confidentiality in health care decisions and health care professionals should facilitate this communication as appropriate.Providing confidential care does not preclude working toward the goal of family communication.Mandatory parental involvement, consent, and/or notification reduce the likelihood that some adolescents will seek health care. In the organizations’ own words:“Health professionals have an obligation to provide the best possible care and counseling to respond to the needs of their adolescent patients.” (AAP, AAFP, ACOG, and other organizations)2“The AMA encourages physicians to involve parents in the medical care of the adolescent patient, when it would be in the best interest of the patient. When, in the opinion of the physician, parental involvement would not be beneficial, parental consent or notification should not be a barrier to care.” (AMA)8“Physicians should encourage [parents’] involvement in the [adolescent] patient’s health and health care decisions and, when appropriate facilitate communication between the two.” (ACOG)6“When minors request confidential services, physicians should encourage them to involve their parents. This includes making efforts to obtain the minor’s reasons for not involving their parents and correcting misconceptions that may be motivating their objections.” (AMA)7“Adolescents should be strongly encouraged to involve their parents and other trusted adults in decisions regarding pregnancy termination, and the majority of them voluntarily do so. (AAP)5“Finally, it is important to acknowledge that some adolescents do not have parents, parental support or any meaningful connection with parents. Some adolescents have experienced abuse or neglect by parents, and have legitimate fears about future abuse, which may include being asked to leave one’ s home by parents. When clinicians encourage adolescents to communicate openly with their parents, it is important to ask about reasons for any reluctance to do so. There are times when it may be appropriate to identify and engage other trusted adults. (SAM)11Adolescents and Parental Notification for Abortion:What California Can Learn from Health Care ProfessionalsLeading medical organizations whose members provide care for adolescents have policies explicitly supporting the role of parents in adolescent health care. These organizations include: American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)American College of Obstetricians and Gyne-cologists (ACOG)American College of Physicians (ACP)American Medical Association (AMA)Society for Adolescent Medicine (SAM)Many medical organizations reinforce the value of encouraging adolescents to involve their parents in their reproductive health care, but recognize that requiringparental involvement may not protect the patient’s health. Medical organizations recognize that confidentiality in treating adolescents is particularly important for establishing trusting and honest communications that help teens to talk about sensitive topics. Confidentiality protections also encourage young people to seek care on a timely basis. Open communication between the adolescent and health professional is a prerequisite for careful counseling and assessment.Concern about confidentiality is one of the primary reasons that adolescents hesitate or delay obtaining reproductive health care, including contraceptive services, care related to sexually transmitted infections, or abortion services.Careful counseling and protection of confidentiality are both needed to appropriately address unintended pregnancy.Reproductive health services should be available on a confidential basis to adolescents who need them.Adolescents must have access to counseling about all options and have access to abortion without legal barriers.In the organizations’ own words:“Confidential care for adolescents is critical to improving their health.” (AMA)8“The issue of confidentiality has been identified by both providers and young people themselves, as a significant access barrier to health care. (AAP, AAFP, ACOG, and other organizations)2“Services for pregnant adolescents [should] include


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