Parents’ rights can’t be ‘vaporized’: Court says teens need parental permission to get birth control

Mostly upholding a controversial law with far-reaching impact, judges on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a father who sued the federal government claiming that long-standing federal protections for teens’ confidential access to contraceptives at federally-funded clinics are in contradiction with his rights as a parent in Texas.

The unanimous decision handed down from a three-judge appellate panel based in Louisiana largely affirms a recent ruling from U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Donald Trump appointee with a history of opposing abortion access, as Law&Crime has previously reported.

The ruling is rooted in a 2020 lawsuit filed by Alexander Deanda. The Amarillo, Texas, resident alleged that federal protections afforded nationwide under Title X programs, specifically federally-funded health clinics providing access to an array of reproductive health care services, conflicted with existing Texas state law dictating that teens must get their parents’ permission first to access contraceptives.