Some doctors give great information about sex and your health, but unfortunately, not all doctors feel okay talking with teens about sex. In California, it’s your right as a teen to get all your questions answered and the health services you need without anyone’s permission.
This includes:
- Birth control including emergency contraception (sometimes called ‘EC’ or the ‘morning-after’ pill)
- Testing and/or treatment for STIs/STDs
- Pregnancy testing and prenatal care
- Abortion services
- HIV/AIDS testing and treatment
If your doctor doesn’t feel okay talking about sex, find a doctor who will. You can find a clinic near you with health care providers with special training in working with teens. You don’t need anyone’s permission including your parents or guardians, or your boyfriend or girlfriend. Your visit to the clinic will be confidential which means that the clinic or doctor can’t tell anyone you were there- unless you say it’s okay. But if you say that you’re hurting yourself, you’re hurting someone else or someone is hurting you, a doctor may have to talk to someone to make sure you get the help you need.