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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Among the four federal programs that provide funds |
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for family planning services in Texas, those operating under Title |
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X of the Public Health Service Act and Medicaid require family |
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planning facilities to provide confidential contraceptive services |
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to anyone who seeks them, regardless of age, in exchange for |
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receiving money from the federal government; and |
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WHEREAS, Established by Congress in 1970, Title X of the |
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Public Health Service Act was designed "to assist in making |
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comprehensive voluntary family planning services readily available |
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to all persons desiring such services"; in 1997, these services, |
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including the availability of contraception, were extended to |
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minors under the age of 16 as a result of the United States Supreme |
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Court decision in Carey v. Population Services International, 431 |
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U.S. 678 (1977); consequently, Title X clinics can provide minors |
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with free contraceptives without a parent's knowledge or consent; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, In 1972, Medicaid funding for family planning was |
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authorized to cover health care services for low-income women |
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through a cooperative federal-state program; in Texas, any provider |
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receiving Title X funds from the state must also provide services to |
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Medicaid-eligible clients, and, in accepting federal matching |
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funds for the Medicaid program, the state cannot require minors to |
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obtain parental consent before receiving family planning services, |
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including contraceptives; and |
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WHEREAS, Taken together, these requirements effectively |
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force the state to provide contraceptives to children under the age |
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of 16 in order to finance critical family planning services and |
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reduce the likelihood of parental involvement at a time in a child's |
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sexual development when emotional capacity is not likely to |
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correspond to physical maturity; additionally, family planning |
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programs operating under Title V and Title XX of the Social Security |
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Act are not explicitly prohibited from requiring parental consent |
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for the dispensation of prescriptions, devaluing the implication |
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that confidentiality is a necessity and sending a mixed message to |
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state administrators of family planning programs; now, therefore, |
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be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to |
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remove confidentiality mandates for minors from family planning |
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services programs operating under Title X of the Public Health |
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Service Act and Medicaid; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |