Should Teens Need Parental Permission to Access Birth Control?

“It can be uncomfortable [for teens to have] these conversations with parents. And we have found in our research that sometimes parents aren’t receptive to having these conversations, or they don’t have the vocabulary and information to really guide a conversation with a young person. But being able to have these confidential conversations with a health care provider really does provide a safe and open space for young people to start to get this information and also helps them on the path to their own development to take responsibility for their reproductive health decisions.”

—Kari White, Ph.D., MPH, Nonresident Fellow in Maternal and Reproductive Health, Baker Institute

About the Episode

This is Episode 2 in our three-part series on reproductive health in Texas — where we have world-class health facilities, yet rank near the bottom when it comes to women’s health outcomes. Listen to Episode 1 and Episode 3. 
 

Kari White, the Baker Institute’s new nonresident fellow in maternal and reproductive health, joined senior health policy fellow Elena M. Marks to discuss teenagers’ access to confidential contraceptive care.

Texas, which has one of the country’s highest rates of teen pregnancy, is one of 27 states in the U.S. that doesn’t allow minors to consent to their own contraceptive care. White and Marks examine the role of confidential care in teens’ health and the policy case for expanding access.

White is also the executive and scientific director at Resound Research for Reproductive Health and the co-author, with Laura Dixon, of a recent Baker Institute issue brief on teens’ confidential access to contraception in Texas.

This conversation was recorded on April 28, 2025.

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Transcript

A full transcript of this episode is available here. This transcript was AI-generated and has not been through editorial review.

About ‘Texas Briefing’

 “Texas Briefing” brings expert insights to the policy challenges shaping life in the Lone Star State. Through topical miniseries, institute scholars and their guests untangle issues in health, the economy, climate resilience, and more to understand how policy matters are impacting communities from the Panhandle to the Gulf Coast.

Select episodes of our “Baker Briefing” and “Texas Briefing” podcasts are recorded in front of a live studio audience at Rice University in Houston, Texas. These recordings are free and open to the public. To learn about upcoming recordings and other public programming from the Baker Institute, subscribe to our “Events Digest” newsletter, delivered weekly.

This material may be quoted or reproduced without prior permission, provided appropriate credit is given to the author(s) and Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. The views expressed herein are those of the individual author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.