A Teen’s Right to Healthcare: Medical Consent, Title X & More
- juniorjusticesllc
- May 9
- 2 min read
By: August Chandler Edited by: Lucy Duku
The ability to consent in medical settings is a right that empowers Americans to preserve
their bodily autonomy and communicate their needs regarding healthcare- a wonderful freedom that keeps us in control of well...us! However, as an American, you only gain the right to make your own healthcare decisions when you are considered a legal & capable adult. This means you can manage your life free of parental intervention. If you are a minor, you are typically considered too
young to give medical consent, so all nonurgent actions regarding your health must be approved by your parent or guardian. With this being said, if you were in a life-or-death situation where your health needed to be acted on sooner than a parent could approve it, it would be legally acceptable.
It is important to consider that laws regarding healthcare decisions are heavily dependent
on the state you live in. In total, 35 states in America declare that youth can consent to routine medical care under certain circumstances. Some examples of these special circumstances are:
● Homelessness
● Lawful marriage or pregnancy
● Participation in the military
● Emancipation (meaning you are not legally bound to your guardians and are
responsible for your own living)
Additionally, some states allow minors to consent to the treatment, including a diagnosis,
of “infectious, contagious, or reportable diseases” such as COVID-19 (“State Laws on Minor
Consent for Routine Medical Care”). Other states, like Idaho and Alaska, may allow a medical practitioner to affirm the minor’s competence as to grant them consent in situations where a parent opposes medical advice (Campbell). To learn more about the laws specific to your region, you can visit your state’s official website.
On top of all this, you have additional freedom to dictate your reproductive care under the
Title X policy that was signed into law in 1970. This is different from routine medical care because it exclusively provides contraceptive services (like birth control or implants to prevent pregnancy) as well as treatments concerning infertility and STIs. You can access this specific care through Title X-supported programs, which will be confidential and allow you to receive reproductive services outside of your guardian’s consent (but you will be advised to involve your guardians in your decisions). Currently, there are over 3,200 Title X clinics in the United States that can assist you freely regardless of age (“Title X Clinics Provide Reproductive Health Services in Innovative Ways | HHS Office of Population Affairs”).
Knowing your rights to medical care as a young person can spare you lots of time, effort,
and stress. Take some time to explore what healthcare decisions you can make where you live; who knows, it might make all the difference one day!
Works Cited
Boonstra, Heather D., and Elizabeth Nash. “Minors and the Right to Consent to Health Care.”
Guttmacher Institute, 1 August 2000,