|
Speak Up! - View Question #624 |
printer friendly version
Question: Does a girl have the right to see a doctor to see if she is pregnant without her parents knowing?
Answer: In Arizona, unless a girl under age 18 is married, is in the armed forces, or
unless her parents have acted in such a way that they lost parental rights (all
three of these mean that she is an emancipated minor) it is unlikely that she
can get medical care of any kind without her parent's consent, and therefore without
their knowledge. A doctor cannot treat a patient without the consent of the patient,
and a minor is probably not able to give consent under the law. (This is different
for a girl over the age of 18, who is an adult and can do what she wants to do.)
A parent has the right and the duty to care for and control a child until they
turn 18. This extends to making decisions about her medical care.
If a girl is in need of medical care (a pregnant girl needs prenatal care)
and the parent is not providing it, then the girl may be able to get help from
the state. However, this cannot be done without the parents knowing about it.
Although not specifically asked, abortion is a topic important to this answer.
According to Arizona law (ARS § 36-2152), a minor cannot have an abortion
unless she has written consent from one parent, or her guardian, or if a judge
authorizes the abortion. This law allows a minor to file a petition for a hearing
at which time the judge will decide if an abortion should go forward without
the consent of the parents. This hearing can take place without the parents
being informed.
A doctor may perform an abortion without permission from the parent or from
a court if the minor certified to him that the pregnancy resulted from sexual
conduct with a parent, stepparent, uncle, grandparent, sibling, adoptive parent,
legal guardian, foster parent or a person who lives in the same household as
the minor and her mother. He must then make a report to law enforcement officials,
who will investigate.
A doctor may also perform an abortion if he believes, based on his review of
the medical records of the minor that there is a medical condition that makes
it necessary for an immediate abortion to save her life, or where delay will
create a risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of major bodily function.
|
Comments |
31 thru 35 of 38 comments |
... 6 [ 7 ] 8
|
|
On 09/15/03
Kelly from GA said:
I think a child no matter what the age, if she is or thinks she is pregnant she should be able to go to the doctors without her parents knowing about it. If you think your old enough to have sex, you should be prepared for the consequences no matter what they may be. All parents are different, but if your pregnant you should be able to go to the doctors and they won't tell your parents. I think that's how it is actually. Lots of laws are unfair, but that's the way life is. I think this one is a good one though
|
On 09/05/03
D from AZ said:
You have the right to see you family doctor with out the presence of a parent. All visits are considered confidential and closed, but if you have a pregnancy test performed it will show up on the primaries account. To be discreet, you should look to out side agencies, such as Planned Parenthood, for confidential testing...
|
On 08/22/03
Jennifer from NC said:
I don't think you should tell your parents because most of them would never understand like I've been through that. And my mom didn't understand so it's best not to tell at all at least that's what I think.
|
On 08/22/03
jared from FL said:
heres a thought... DONT HAVE SEX UNTIL YOU'RE SECURE w/ a job and stuff ENUF TO TAKE CARE OF A KID... problem solved.
|
On 08/04/03
Amanda from WA said:
I think that it should be fare for the girl to go to the doctor to see if she is pregnant without her parents consent, because she might already be a parent of her own. And besides the parents might get really mad to the point where the young girl has no where to go and might be pregnant or not and doesn't have money to keep herself healthy, pregnant or not.
|
31 thru 35 of 38 comments |
... 6 [ 7 ] 8
|
|
|