Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a ruling in Deanda v. Becerra, a case challenging the Title X family planning program’s long-standing statute allowing young people under 18 to obtain contraceptive care without parental consent. 

In response, Advocates for Youth issued the following statement from Diana Thu-Thao Rhodes, Vice President for Policy, Partnerships, and Organizing.

“Advocates for Youth is extremely disappointed to learn the court held that the Title X statute’s confidentiality protections do not preempt or supersede Texas’s parental consent law. We are however glad that the Fifth Circuit reversed the lower court’s order vacating a 2021 federal regulation that explicitly prohibits Title X providers from requiring parental consent and declined to rule as to whether the regulation preempts the Texas law.     

For decades Title X has made it possible for young people under 18 to confidentially access essential reproductive healthcare services, including birth control. The impact of the decision by the District Court has already taken an immense toll on youth who have lost confidential access to contraceptive care over the last year. The Fifth Circuit ruling leads to more uncertainty and confusion around the provision of confidential care for minors. Young people should be able to make important decisions about their health, lives, and futures with support from highly qualified family planning providers committed to their patients’ health and safety – not barriers and delays.”