Young people should not be allowed access to health care services without the permission or involvement of their parents, most online readers have said to Nation Talkback.
Last Saturday, Barbados Family Planning Association executive director George Griffith said there was a proposal to have teenagers, some as young as 14, receive services in Government clinics, even if parents are not involved.
Griffith said births to teenage mothers were on the rise and more young people were becoming sexually active at an early age, adding that the country must face up to the reality of teenage sexuality.
Here is what some of our readers had to say on this proposal:
Sherrie Bumbray: “Although I agree that sexually active teens or teens who are thinking of becoming sexually active should have access to birth control, I am not a fan of treating children below the age of consent without the parents knowing.”
Gabrielle Crichlow: “I think children under the age of consent should not be allowed to receive health care without parental advice, as long as this parental influence does not endanger the child’s well-being.”
Raquel Gilkes: “I think it is extremely irresponsible and possibly illegal to offer minors health care without parental consent. I am not even so concerned about moral fibre as [I am about] legal and social implications. I do not know how neglecting to inform parents is supposed to ‘help’ the situation.”
Susie Caponie: “Child, means that the individual with that title is dependent on an adult for care. Having sex at an early age doesn’t make one an adult. However, a child should not be denied access to care but the parent should be notified that the child was given care.
“Once notified, the parent and the child should receive some counselling that would help to bridge the obvious communication gap which exists.”
Michael Ramsay: “There is a plan to give teenagers, even those below the age of consent, access to health services at clinics without their parents. This is a sexual encouragement not a deterrent.
Luke Alisia: “It aggravates me that people consider 15- and 16-year-olds children. Though they are not fully mature, they are at a particular stage of maturity which is very different from a four-year old . . . .
“Allowing health care to minors without the parents’ [consent] could help girls who come from an abusive family, or similar sensitive situations where the parent is not doing what is best for the child.”
Joy Wharton: “If the parents cannot do the job well, someone needs to step in and help. Some of these parents need parenting themselves.”
