Contraception for Under 16s - Is Parental Permission Required?

[fionas]

15-year-old DSD is coming to live with us in a couple of weeks and will be finishing school here.

Last year her mum mentioned that she found birth control pills in DSD's room and we are trying to clarify with her and then with DSD whether or not she is sexually active and/or on the pill.

I'm not looking for a discussion on whether under-16s should be sexually active and whether talking to them about contraception could be deemed as approving of/condoning that behaviour.

What I want to know is this - will a doctor prescribe the pill to a girl aged under 16 or would she need parental permission?

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

I would assume she would need parental permission - however it would be easy enough to get around if she didn't want her parents to know. I was put on the Pill at 15 to try and regulate my periods, and they never asked me to get permission, but maybe that was because it was medically needed, not just asked for?? Sorry, not much help I know!

[Enchanted]

When I was 15 I got the pill from my local GP. I went on my own and didn't tell Mum. The Dr did ask if I had discussed it with my Mum and of course I said "Yes"

When Mum found out she called the Dr and went mental and said that he "legally" wasn't allowed to prescribe me with it. His defence was that he had asked me "if" I had discussed it with Mum and he took my word for it. TBH I don't see why a Dr can't prescribe it to someone under 16 if they think that it will be beneficial to them iykwim?!?

I really haven't been any help

[kawazuki]

they can if there is medical need for it.
basically heavy irregular periods lots of cramping etc etc etc

any of this is reason enough.
if the GP has been her dr for years and knows her well then he prob would as he would see it as 1 a precaution. but 2 as a way of regulating her periods.
most drs use it now as a regulator of periods and control of PMS not purely as a contraceptive.

maybe that is why she is on it and maybe that woudl eb a better way of broaching the subject
i was 14 when i went on the pill and wasnt sexually active till much later

[Aimz]

I was prescribed the pill at 15, with no parental consent. I went to the doctor presenting with severe acne on my back and she suggested the pill. When I was about 13 my friends and I "decorated" a park with condoms, which we were allowed to buy at the supermarket without parental consent. I'm not sure if there are rules for GP's - but in my experience I did not need permission to go on the pill.

I think it would be irresponsible NOT to discuss safe sex with teenagers. I wish my Mum had got to me earlier than she did - I had a close call during my "first time" when the guy in question said we didn't need to use condoms because I was on the pill. The sex talk from Mum came months later - at which point I took myself off for a test (negative for nasties *phew*). If I had been more aware I would have been a lot more careful than I was.

I started to wonder about sex at about 14 and by the time I was 15 (and my friends were starting to "do it") I was hell bent on losing my virginity. Whether you discuss it with them or not won't change the "when" but it might change their perspective on being safe and responsible.

[rhyb]

They dont need consent as I got on it at 15 and my 14 year old sister is on it (for medical reasons). Just like they can get the morning after pill without consent.

[Amaunet]

I believe the age is 14 after which they (doctors/hospitals) don't need to tell parents anything about their children who seek medical advice. I know that students at my school see a doctor at a local drop in centre and are over 14 have been prescribed the pill as a contraceptive as well as being referred for terminations.