Texas sues Biden administration over confidential contraception for teens

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip, Joe.My.God.

Texas Sues Feds To Block Birth Control For Teenagers
July 26, 2024

{snip}

Texas sues Biden administration over confidential contraception for teens
Federal clinics in Texas are already required to get parental permission to prescribe birth control after a 2022 court ruling.

BY ELEANOR KLIBANOFF
JULY 25, 2024
19 HOURS AGO

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday announced he is suing the Biden administration over a federal contraception program that provides teens birth control without requiring parental consent. The Title X program has long been the only way minors in Texas can access confidential contraception, but since a court ruling in 2022, Texas providers have been required to get parental sign-off.

Here’s what you need to know

The background: Title X is a Nixon-era program that provides confidential contraception to anyone, regardless of income, immigration status or age. Federal regulations, and several court rulings, have long held that Title X providers cannot require teens to get parental permission to be prescribed birth control.

In 2020, an Amarillo father sued over that provision, saying it violated his parental rights as guaranteed by the Texas Constitution. Alexander Deanda was represented by Jonathan Mitchell, the former Texas Solicitor General and conservative legal firebrand. Mitchell filed the lawsuit in federal court in Amarillo, where only one conservative judge, Matthew Kacsmaryk, hears almost all cases.

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[DBoon]

1. "Texas tops the nation in teens who give birth multiple times"

While teenage birth rates have declined significantly across the country in recent decades, Texas remains above the national average, consistently ranking in the top 10 states. Out of all births in Texas, around 6% were teen births in 2019 and 2020.

And a startling proportion of teenagers who gave birth in Texas in 2020 — more than 1 in 6 — already had at least one other child. Analysis by The Texas Tribune using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Texas had the highest rate of these so-called “repeat teen births” in the country, along with Alabama. In the last decade, the state has been in the top five states for repeat teen birth rates.

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/02/21/texas-teenage-pregnancy-abortion/

and

Teen birth rate in Texas increases for the first time in 15 years
https://www.wptv.com/teen-birth-rate-in-texas-increases-for-the-first-time-in-15-years

New data is revealing the real-life impact of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.

For the first time in 15 years, the birth rate among teens in Texas increased.

The University of Houston’s Institute for Research on Women, Gender & Sexuality found the birth rate for women ages 15–44 in Texas went up by about 2%, and for teens, the birth rate increased by 0.39%. In both age groups, the highest increases were among Hispanic girls and women.

"It's certainly cause for discussion,” said Elizabeth Gregory, a professor and the Director of Women's Gender & Sexuality Studies at the University of Houston. “This affects individuals’ lives in terms of what their long-term opportunities might be, if they have to step out of school or take jobs to support their children in the near term."

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Yes, but they're not childless cat ladies. NT

[CrispyQ]

3. If you can get pregnant you should have control over that without anyone else's consent, even if you're 12.

Denying birth control to kids does not keep them from having sex.

[joshdawg]

4. Sleazebag paxton rears his ugly head once again.

He needs to disappear, I care not how.

[walkingman]

5. I live in Texas and it has become a daily challenge for me to live in

Last edited Fri Aug 2, 2024, 06:01 PM - Edit history (1)

this state without taking a anti-depressant. If it is not the crazy politicians we have it is the climate - both politically and socially. It is sad that we have become almost a foreign country for anyone that lived here prior to the GOP takeover. We are business friendly but not people friendly. That is bringing in lots of employers and with them people into a right-to-work antiunion environment.

There is a reason we do not have a state income tax....but with it comes a price in terms of quality of life.

Not expecting agreement....just venting.