Parents Right to Know Act of 2005
Sen. Tom Coburn, M.D.
For more information, contact Matt Blackburn with Senator Tom Coburn at (202)
224-5754
WHAT DOES THIS BILL DO?
This bill would require that written notification be provided to parents at least five (5) business days before contraceptive drugs and prescription devices are distributed to their minor child by Title X clinics.
This would mean that Title X clinics
COULD NOT provide contraceptive drugs or prescription devices to children (minors under 18 years of age) without the notification of a parent or guardian. Except in cases where parental consent has been previously granted, the minor is emancipated or a court has directed that the minor receive such drugs or prescription devices.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
As a practicing family physician, Dr. Coburn (or any doctor for that matter) is required to receive parental authorization, except in emergency situations, before he provides
ANY medical care to a child.
Title X clinics provide a variety of services that involve serious issues with life-changing emotional, physical and psychological consequences.
This amendment does
NOT reduce Title X funding. It simply includes parents in the medical treatment provided to their children.
Any child can receive birth control – at any age – with out the notification of the child’s parent, but they
CAN NOT get a library card from their local library on their own until they have reached 18 years of age.
In order for a child to receive Tylenol at school they must have a signed permission slip, but at a Title X clinic, birth control can be distributed without any such parental consent or notification.