Tuesday, August 13, 2002
Poll reveals teens want privacy on contraception issue
A story released today by the Associated Press reports that according to a study conducted in Wisconsin, nearly half of the young girls surveyed in the state said that they would quit going to Planned Parenthood if their parents had to be told they wanted prescribed contraceptives.
The study, appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, was funded by grants from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Center for Urban Initiatives and Research, the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues and Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin Inc.
Researchers surveyed 950 girls ages 12 to 17 at 33 Planned Parenthood clinics around Wisconsin in 1999. The girls were asked to complete a confidential survey as they waited for appointments.
The study found 47 percent said they would stop using all sexual health care services at Planned Parenthood if their parents were notified they were seeking birth control pills or devices.
``If a teen thinks that their access to medical services is compromised in one area, they are making the assumption it could apply to other areas as well,'' Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin spokeswoman Lisa Boyce said.
Ninety-nine percent of the girls said they would have unprotected sex or use condoms if they couldn't get prescribed contraceptives, the study found.
