>>>> I am amazed at the number of teenage boys who have at least one child and are not with the mother or do not spend time with their child let alone give financial support. How can a teen father support a child?
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>>>Probably not much better than a teen mother does.
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>>And, of course, that's the whole problem with teens having babies. They have no idea what the long-term impact on their lives will be.
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>>Tamar
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>In North Carolina, a child can only get contraceptives with her parent's consent. In fact, a child under the age of 18 cannot be seen by a doctor without the parent being present unless his/her life is at risk. This created a problem for me once when I was out of town for a week and my daughter was staying with her grandmother. Her grandmother is not very mobile and Haley got sick and went to her doctor. She has seen this doctor numerous times and the doctor phoned me out of town and informed me by law she could not see Haley without a parent or guardian present. I gave her my permission over the phone and she informed that was not sufficient by law. Given that contraceptives are not taught in school (only abstinance), it is probably not surprising that we have a LOT of teen pregnancies. Now, as a parent I like that rule. I want to be involved in the medical care of my child. As a women who was once 17 though, I know full well that a 17 year old is of sufficient age to seek
>contraceptives. In my personal opinion, most 16 year olds are. Today, there are 14 year olds having sex without their parent's knowledge. Most parents think 'not my child.' Reality is often different. I think contraceptives should be available at the age of 16 up without parental concent. It is a shame that a 17 year old can have a baby and be responsible for it for the rest of their lives but not be considered mature enough to obtain contraceptives to prevent the pregnancy to begin with. Sex will happen. Hopefully not until they are an adult, but really, if a teen is going to have sex, let them at least get contraceptives.
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>I know this is a touchy subject and probably as hot as abortion. I find it interesting that the majority (not all) of those who favor requiring parental consent for contraception until the age of 18 are on the far right of the political field.
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>Somehow I have become the parent who takes the other teen girls to the doctor for their first pap smear. I have had 4 parents request I do this for them because their daughters informed them they were having sex and needed contraception but refused to have their own parent present in the doctor's examining room. When they had this discussion, the mothers tried talking their daughters out of sex, but you know how stubborn teens can be. The typical response is 'you can tell me not to, but I probably will anyway.' I don't know why they choose me, but really, I've seen more pap smears than I care to. Makes me often wonder though: what about those girls who don't discuss it at all with their parents? I think they may be the majority.

NC law requires a parent (or apparently a surrogate) to be present in the examination room while the exam takes place? For anyone under 18? That is unbelievable.