Not Broken: Why NC's parental consent bill is bad for teens

Guest Columnist Kevin Varner

My father had a saying, “If it ain’t broke, son, don’t fix it.”

House Bill 693 is an attempt to tinker with something that isn’t broken. North Carolina law already requires parental consent for teenagers to get an abortion. The new House Bill 693 would require parental consent for a minor to receive, among other things, testing or treatment for HIV and STDs. If passed, it would be the first law of its kind in the United States.

As Director of Prevention, Education and Testing at Triad Health Project in Greensboro, I see firsthand what a difference it makes for teens to have access to confidential health care. All the teens I counsel have two things in common: they are scared, and they are ignorant of their risks. They’re scared to go to Mom and Dad for fear of being judged, or thrown out of their homes. Many don’t know how STDs are transmitted.

In my first six months on the job, a 17-year-old boy tested positive for Gonorrhea, and a 15-year-old girl tested positive for Chlamydia. Both shared that without confidential testing and treatment, they would not have known where to turn. I scheduled appointments for treatment at the health department, counseled them on how to use condoms correctly and how to prevent STDs. I encouraged them to wait until they were older and in a monogamous relationship before having sex.

This week, a mother came with her daughter to get test results. The daughter had come for confidential testing three weeks prior by herself, concerned about HIV and STD risks.  Admittedly, I was surprised to see a mother and daughter for test results, so after giving the daughter good news that she was not infected, I asked them what prompted them to come together. The mother said, “I can’t always be around, and I don’t always know what my daughter is doing. I came to support her, but sometimes she won’t tell me everything she does because I’m her mother and I worry. I also don’t know all the facts about HIV like you do. I don’t feel as comfortable talking about sex and STDs. She doesn’t want to listen to her mother all the time.  But, Mr. Varner, she came on her own, and she listened to you. You didn’t judge her. You helped her. You tested her, educated her and gave her condoms.” The daughter added, “If my mom were to give me condoms, I’d be too embarrassed to take them. But taking them from you seemed easier. When you told me how proud you were that I came to get tested on my own, I got the strength to talk with my mom, and that’s why I wanted her here. I wanted her support. I feel more comfortable talking with her now. But, if I had to go to my mom first, instead of being able to come to you first, I would have been too afraid.”

If state legislators pass the new parental consent bill into law, they are not only taking away the choices and voices of our young people, they are taking away the voices and helping hands of the medical professionals, behavioral health professionals and health educators in our state.

That, finally, would be something broken that would need fixing for years to come.

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Take action to stop HB 963. Email NC Speaker of the House Thom  Tillis.