Yesterday it was learned thanks to a news from the Telegraph newspaper that teenage girls between thirteen and sixteen they have been receiving contraceptives in the form of injections and implants in their educational centers, and all this without the parents 'having no idea'. Where has this happened?
It has been in the United Kingdom, where those responsible for several schools in Southampton, Bristol, Northumbria, Berkshire or West Midlands, ... among other municipalities, they have authorized their nurses to submit these treatments to minors.
In line with what was said here when we talk about Informed Consent in minors, it seems that in the United Kingdom there is also an age range, in which despite not yet having a sanitary majority, children can decide that their parents do not Decide on the treatment, and don't even have communication. The rule responds to the patient's confidentiality right.
Several things fail here and I will not start with what would be a priority for many of you: first Sex education cannot be reduced to providing contraceptives by turning the relationship into something that may or may not occur, but in any case a kind of mechanical act. In other words, sexuality (and more in adolescence) are emotions, building relationships, communicating, thinking for oneself, deciding ... and it seems to me that with the act of implanting a contraceptive that releases hormones for three years! We do not meet all these needs.
Secondly, Please tell me that it doesn't seem logical to you that girls as young as 13 are being given hormonal treatments so they don't get pregnant. Has it occurred to anyone to anticipate what consequences this may have on a growing body?
I do not pretend to seem too conservative, but although here and there there are girls who at that age have already had a coital relationship, in reality they are still small physically, biologically and psychologically for a healthy sexuality That includes different intimate acts.
Nor will I become transcendent as some statements I have read, and I will not comment on whether sex before the age of 16 should be legal or illegal, I will not even comment on that statement that spoke of intercourse as a spiritual relationship. But boys and girls they need to be heard, explained, and events anticipated. They require parents and educators to put themselves in their place and be part of a growth process that will lead to adolescence in conscious decision making. Definitely: giving contraceptives is not educating, if it is not placed in a wider context.
And well, I get to the quif of the matter, How come they don't consult parents?, at least it seems irresponsible. In other words, the parents delegate part of the education of the children to the schools, they trust the people in charge of the center, they authorize the eye exams, they sign the notes, they attend the meetings, and nobody tells them that their child will be injected tomorrow with a contraceptive?
To make matters worse, schools are saying that they have not even kept records of treatments, so as not to violate the right to privacy and confidentiality. So who do I claim if - for example - an adverse reaction occurs after administration?
Dan Poulter is the Secretary of British Health, and has said that children under 16 can access these treatments without hindrance because it is legal, yes, it talks about the convenience of doctors encouraging boys and girls to consult with their parents. And this point is something that increasingly fails: the communication, but not because the doctor tells me but because I trust my father if I'm a minor, or because I listen without judging my son if I'm a mother.
In Spain, girls can also freely acquire some contraceptive methods in pharmacies, although for implants and IUDs it is necessary to obtain permission or be older than 16 years.
What do you want me to say! I know that they have done this because they have higher rates of teenage pregnancies than in other countries, but it doesn't seem justifiable at all. It is a partial measure from the point of view of sexual health, and as I ignore if you have previously developed other approaches, my reflection is here.
