On Access to Birth Control

I just spent quite literally all day attempting to obtain birth control pills. It was significantly harder than I thought it would be.
I’m sixteen. For the past two years, I’ve gotten my family planning services from the local health department. Access was never an issue; I was fortunate to have a consenting parent. It was free and no questions were asked about the fact that I was only fourteen.
But now I’m heading to college–I skipped a couple of grades. I moved to the capital city of my state, and one of my first tasks upon moving in was to transfer my care to the health department here.
My move had the unfortunate timing of taking place right as I needed another pap smear to get more pills. I started to bite my nails as I realized that I was on my last pack of pills. Between scheduling my appointment, getting the pap smear, transferring my medical records, and all of the other red tape, I was running out of time. But when I tried to tackle these obstacles, I was hit with another road block: Parental consent.
Parental consent? My parents live 150 miles away. How are they supposed to give written consent? More importantly, why the hell should they have to consent? I’m sixteen. I have reached the age of consent. My body is my business. (As an aside, no one seems to be able to answer me when I ask why I need parental consent again even though I’ve been on birth control for two years, and my mother’s consent form should be on file.)
This started me wondering about how teens with objecting parents have access to birth control. Condoms are easily obtained, but they’re not always ideal birth control. My mom and I can work out the parental consent through faxing forms (leaving me wondering what would have happened had I just forged the damn thing), but I am in the minority.
My mom left home at fifteen through much less happy circumstances than mine. I asked her how she got birth control when she was my age. Her answer: “I had four abortions, honey. I’m trying to keep the same thing from happening to you.”
I’m from a middle class family and I’m going to college. I am white; I am cisgender; I am in a relationship with a male, making my bisexuality invisible to observers. And I can’t get access to birth control. What about those with less privilege? What about teens like my mom, who wouldn’t ever get their parents to consent? What about your average teenager who’s simply overwhelmed by the amount of red tape involved in not getting pregnant?
Ultimately, I think that birth control pills should be available over the counter. Anyone and everyone should have access, regardless of age. And wider varieties of birth control should be options for teens. (While we’re at it, how about more birth control options for males? Anyone? Anyone? …Bueller?)
When I can afford it (and when I can find someone to do it), I want an IUD. In the meantime, I will continue watching my last pill pack dwindle, wondering whether the clinic will pull through.

Disclaimer: This post was written by a Feministing Community user and does not necessarily reflect the views of any Feministing columnist, editor, or executive director.

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