Seattle 6th Graders Can’t Get a Coke at School, But Can Get an IUD

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"School-based health providers often cited their lack of formal training not only in inserting
or removing IUDs and contraceptive implants, but also with the procedures in general."
Seattle 6th Graders Can't Get a Coke at School, But Can Get an IUD
July 3, 2015 in News by Slad
http://republicbroadcasting.org/seattle-6th-graders-cant-get-a-coke-at-school-but-can-get-an-iud/

  "Source: CNS News
   By Kathleen Brown | July 1, 2015 | 11:07 AM EDT
   
   
   Intrauterine device (IUD). (AP photo)

   (CNSNews.com) —  Middle and high school students can't get a Coca-Cola
   or a candy bar at 13 Seattle public schools, but they can get a
   taxpayer-funded intrauterine device (IUD) implanted without their
   parents' consent.
   
   School-based health clinics in at least 13 Seattle-area public high
   schools and middle schools offer long-acting reversible contraceptives
   (LARCs), including IUDs and hormonal implants, to students in
   sixth-grade and above at no cost, according to Washington State
   officials.
   
   LARCs are associated with serious side effects, such as uterine
   perforation and infection. IUDs, specifically, can also act as
   abortifacients by preventing the implantation of a fertilized egg.
   
   The state and federally funded contraceptive services are made possible
   by Take Charge, a Washington State Medicaid program which provides free
   birth control to adults who are uninsured, lack contraceptive coverage,
   have an income at or below 260 percent of the Federal Poverty Level —
   or, in this case, to teens who don't want their parents to know they're
   on birth control.
   
   In an email exchange with the Washington State Health Care Authority
   and CNSNews.com, a Take Charge spokesperson acknowledged that underage
   students are eligible for a "full array of covered family planning
   services" at school-based clinics if their parents meet the program's
   requirements.
   
   Take Charge added that "a student who does not want their parents to
   know they are seeking reproductive health services is allowed to apply
   for Take Charge using their own income, and if they are insured under
   their parents' plan, the insurance would not be billed."
   
   When asked if a sixth grader could get an IUD implanted without
   parental consent, Take Charge told CNSNews.com: "We encourage all Take
   Charge providers to offer long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs)
   in their clinics. A young person does not need parental consent to
   obtain a LARC or any other contraceptive method...If the young person is
   not choosing abstinence, she would be able to select a LARC and have it
   inserted without parental consent."
   
   So while the students can't get a soda from the cafeteria due to the
   Seattle School Board's 2004 ban on junk food, they can get an IUD
   implanted at their school's health center without their parents'
   knowledge or permission.
   
   According to the Washington State Medicaid website, health centers at
   four middle schools and nine high schools in Seattle participate in the
   Take Charge program. OtherTake Charge providers are located in close
   proximity to schools.
   
   "We have public health departments, community-based clinics, college
   and university clinics, pediatric clinics, private physician practices,
   and family planning clinics, like Planned Parenthood" as providers,
   Take Charge said in the email exchange. A total of 38 Planned
   Parenthood clinics participate in the Take Charge program.
   
   Seattle school-based clinics participating in the program include Aki
   Kurose Middle School, Washington Middle School, Denny Middle School,
   Madison Middle School, Franklin High School, Nathan Hale High School,
   Roosevelt High School, West Seattle High School, Garfield High School,
   Ingraham High School, Rainier Beach High School, South Lake High
   School, and Chief Sealth International High School.
   
   "Because we're at the school, which is so wonderful, we have access to
   the students, and they have access to us, pretty much any time," said
   Katie Acker, a health educator at two high school clinics run by
   Neighborcare Health, which participates in the Take Charge program.
   
   "We will send them a pass for whatever class is easiest or best to get
   out of. Of course, there are always students who are like, 'I wanna
   miss IB Math!' We are not gonna pull you out of IB Math — how about
   ceramics instead?"
   
   Washington State law grants any individual "a fundamental right of
   privacy with respect to personal reproductive decisions."
   
   A 2014 Washington University study "document[ed] the activities of the
   reproductive health educator and trends in teen LARC uptake" at clinics
   participating in the Take Charge program in West Seattle High School
   and Chief Sealth International High School. School-based health
   providers, Neighborcare administrators, public health officials, and
   community partners were interviewed.
   
   Researchers found that "school-based health providers often cited their
   lack of formal training not only in inserting or removing IUDs and
   contraceptive implants, but also with the procedures in general."
   
   One health care provider who was interviewed reportedly commented:
   "It's still scary to begin putting them in. Scary meaning that we know
   the biggest complication risk come with the least experienced
   providers. So how do you take that leap and just go for it?"
   
   
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