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Houston: Difference between revisions
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In Texas, contraception is generally legal but restrictions apply. You need a prescription to obtain birth control. Furthermore, if you are under 18 years old, you typically need permission from your parents. In fact, Texas is one of only two US states that does not allow state funds to be used for contraceptive use without parental consent.<ref>[http://www.contracept.org/articles/contraception/texas-birth-control-laws-for-teens Texas Birth Control Laws for Teens]</ref> | In Texas, contraception is generally legal but restrictions apply. You need a prescription to obtain birth control. Furthermore, if you are under 18 years old, you typically need permission from your parents. In fact, Texas is one of only two US states that does not allow state funds to be used for contraceptive use without parental consent.<ref>[http://www.contracept.org/articles/contraception/texas-birth-control-laws-for-teens Texas Birth Control Laws for Teens]</ref> | ||
If you cannot get permission from your parents, you can confidentially get birth control from Title X clinics (see section below where you can find them in Houston). Note that Title X are available to all people, regardless of their age or if they have parental consent, and they may even be able to give you birth control at a reduced cost or no cost at all depending on your financial situation. Also, if you're on Medicaid, you can get birth control at Texas clinics that accept Medicaid (even if you're under 18 and with no parental consent required).<ref>[http://janesdueprocess.org/title-x-clinics/ Jane's Due Process: Where Can I Get Birth Control?]</ref> | If you cannot get permission from your parents, you can confidentially get birth control from Title X clinics (see section below where you can find them in Houston). Note that Title X clinics are available to all people, regardless of their age or if they have parental consent, and they may even be able to give you birth control at a reduced cost or no cost at all depending on your financial situation. Also, if you're on Medicaid, you can get birth control at Texas clinics that accept Medicaid (even if you're under 18 and with no parental consent required).<ref>[http://janesdueprocess.org/title-x-clinics/ Jane's Due Process: Where Can I Get Birth Control?]</ref> | ||
For many women, access to contraception in Texas is hampered by little government funding. As reported by the Houston Chronicle, "In Texas, limits on abortion get the big headlines. But access to effective birth control has been weakened in the crossfire. When lawmakers kicked Planned Parenthood out of the state's Women's Health Program in 2013, they assured Texans that women would find providers elsewhere for family planning. This week, a University of Texas study published in the New England Journal of Medicine produced strong evidence that Texas has failed to fill the void. In counties affected by the Planned Parenthood exclusion, claims for long-acting contraceptives dropped by more than 35 percent, and requests for injectable contraceptives dropped 31 percent. Meanwhile, Medicaid-paid births spiked among women who previously had used injectable methods."<ref>[http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/columnists/falkenberg/article/The-numbers-don-t-lie-Texans-need-access-to-6812535.php The numbers don't lie: Texans need access to birth control]</ref> | For many women, access to contraception in Texas is hampered by little government funding. This began in 2011, when 66% of state funds for Planned Parenthood in were cut. Later in 2013, the state replaced its Medicaid program with the [http://www.texaswomenshealth.org/ Texas Women's Health Program], thereby allowing them to cut all former Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood. These Planned Parenthood facilities served 60% of the state's low-income women.<ref>[http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-planned-parenthood-texas-births-20160203-story.html After Texas stopped funding Planned Parenthood, low-income women had more babies]</ref> | ||
As reported by the Houston Chronicle, "In Texas, limits on abortion get the big headlines. But access to effective birth control has been weakened in the crossfire. When lawmakers kicked Planned Parenthood out of the state's Women's Health Program in 2013, they assured Texans that women would find providers elsewhere for family planning. This week, a University of Texas study published in the New England Journal of Medicine produced strong evidence that Texas has failed to fill the void. In counties affected by the Planned Parenthood exclusion, claims for long-acting contraceptives dropped by more than 35 percent, and requests for injectable contraceptives dropped 31 percent. Meanwhile, Medicaid-paid births spiked among women who previously had used injectable methods."<ref>[http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/columnists/falkenberg/article/The-numbers-don-t-lie-Texans-need-access-to-6812535.php The numbers don't lie: Texans need access to birth control]</ref> | |||
===What to Get & Where to Get It=== | ===What to Get & Where to Get It=== | ||