
What are "Youth Rights" and how do they relate to school-based health centers?
The school-based health center (SBHC) is not a benign entity. Parents need to understand that there is an all-out assault on parental rights, not only in the state of Oregon, but across the nation. We are seeing a swing from parental rights to "youth rights" and it is swirling within the context of school based health centers that provide mental and medical health care, sex education, reproductive health services (as pictured above) and a slew of other services to your minor child. All of these services can be accessed through most SBHC's, and if not available, the minor can be transported or referred to another clinic...all without parental knowledge or consent.
Laws have been passed in Oregon (ORS 109.610, ORS 109.640) which allow minors of any age to access birth control related information and services as well as treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STI's) without parental consent. A parent's private insurance can already be billed if their child visits a SBHC and the parent may be notified after the fact.
However, there is a new twist on this law. House Bill 2758 is currently winding its way through the political process in Salem and it seeks to take more of your rights as a parent away from you and hand them over to your child. The ostensible purpose of this bill is to protect your child's confidentiality in any insurance communications they may have with your insurance provider. In order words, the bill "will require carriers to send insurance communications directly to the member receiving sensitive services, not the primary policyholder unless the member receiving the care affirmatively consents to the policyholder receiving those communication." So you see, you, the parent, would be paying for your child's health care but have no knowledge of the kinds of services your child could be accessing at the school-based health center if this bill passes.
So who is having a say in the kinds of health care your child will be receiving at school? You might be interested to learn that the following organizations have a vested interest in your child's health care and are supporting and lobbying for its passage: Planned Parenthood, the ACLU, Basic Rights Oregon (a homosexual lobby), Cascade Aids Projects (homosexual organization), Oregon Latino Health Coalition, Oregon Sexual Assault Task Force (which supported the pornography laden Adolescent Sexuality Conference in Seaside) and the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence. And these are the same organizations who are on the march to remove your parental rights, not only at the state level but the federal level as well.
So you see, all that these organizations needed to do to come between parent and child was to isolate children from their parental influences and values by putting the child in the driver's seat of their health care. It's as simple as granting minors control over these decisions, even though these same minors are not deemed mature enough to drive a car or cast a vote. It's ingenious! At SBHCs your child's health care decisions are being commandeered by the school, the Oregon Department of Education, the Oregon Health Authority, private organizations and foundations that want unconstrained access to your child.
As a parent are you prepared to hand over your child 's health and safety into the hands of faceless bureaucrats? |