Chapter 6, Part II: The Day We Went for Measles Immunization (true story)

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n 1994 Missouri passed a law mandating that all children receive a second measles immunization.Â? We received a notice from school that our freshman needed a second measles immunization, so we went to the County Health Department to get it.

As the nurse was preparing the injection, I said to her, “I understand you have a Teen Clinic� here.”� She replied, “Yes.”

I said, “I understand they give contraceptives� to minors� without parental consent.”� She replied, “Yes.”� I said, “That’s unfortunate.” She replied, “Yes.”� She then proceeded to tell me of her own experience there.

While she does not work in the Teen ClinicÂ? itself, and this nurse does not approve of giving contraceptivesÂ? to minorsÂ? without parental consent, she does work in the facility where the Teen Clinic is located.Â? She explained how the older of her daughters brought the younger two to that very location, and had them put on contraceptives without her consent.Â? She explained that the girls had used another entrance to the clinic.

See the chapter titled “School-Based Clinics, School-Community-Linked Services, and Parental Consent.”