On Tuesday, the NC General Assembly approved a bill that would require teenagers to provide notarized parental approval in order to access STD testing, STD treatment, mental health counseling, pregnancy care or substance abuse treatment. This bill, House Bill 693, will take away crucial human rights of any number of at-risk children. If this bill passes, who will children of neglectful parents turn to? What about teenagers in situations of incest or abuse?
Supporters of the bill claim that this bill may bring a child's risky behavior to their parents' attention. But the sad fact is, not all families are ideal, and not all parents have the best interests of their children in mind. Why can't we trust competent parents to keep an eye on their children on their own, without North Carolina's help, and allow children of neglectful or abusive parents to advocate for themselves?

Read the text of the bill here: http://ncleg.net/Sessions/2013/Bills/House/HTML/H693v0.html

Why should you sign this petition?

- Because teenagers are people too.

- Because some teenagers are unfortunate enough to have abusive or neglectful parents.

- Because the government should not make it harder for people to access basic mental and reproductive health care services.

- Because if the bill passes, we will have the most regressive policies on youth health care IN THE NATION.