Media Center: Press Release

Does rising teen birthrate presage a new trend in Missouri?

New York, NY—Healthcare providers and parents were troubled by news last December that the teen birthrate increased by 3% in 2006. In Missouri, the news is even more alarming: teen birthrates jumped 6.7% that year, more than double the national increase. Dr. Daryl Lynch sees this statistic reflected in the young women he treats through a Kansas City teen health clinic: “We usually diagnose two or three pregnancies a month, but in December, we diagnosed 15. Our clinic staff is worried about what’s coming down the pike.  Is this the beginning of a trend?”

Many teens avoid seeing a doctor for sensitive issues like pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections because they’re afraid that their treatment will not be kept private. State laws allow some confidential medical care for minors, but specifics vary from state to state. As a result, some healthcare providers are unsure of what information and medical tests they can offer confidentially to adolescent patients. This means that fewer teens are getting the reproductive services they need.

A new guide will help healthcare providers in Missouri give confidential treatment to teen patients. Minors’ Access to Confidential Reproductive Healthcare in Missouri, a brochure produced by Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health (PRCH), helps clarify Missouri’s laws on this subject. This pocket-sized guide offers an overview of the state’s confidentiality laws for services like contraception, pregnancy testing, and emergency care. The guide also helps healthcare professionals communicate with teens and their parents about the importance of letting teens seek medical care privately.

“We need to sit up and take note of what is happening with teens in Missouri,” said Dr. Lynch. “Our state has seen substantial support in recent years for abstinence-only until marriage programs. While we can’t draw any conclusions about these programs and the increase in teen birthrates, clinicians and policymakers need to start asking questions. Are we doing all we can to keep teens healthy?”

Minors’ Access to Confidential Reproductive Healthcare in Missouri was developed by PRCH, the Center for Adolescent Health and the Law, and the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri, with input from the Missouri Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Midwest Chapter of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.

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