Jerry Nadler: “this vote will show whether this House lives in a dream world or in the real world. In the real world, not every child…”

“this vote will show whether this House lives in a dream world or in the real world. In the real world, not every child can talk to his parents or her parents. In the real world, there are child abusers as parents; there are absentee parents; there are ignorant parents; there are children who as teenagers who are sexually active. Mr. Chairman, the vote on this amendment will determine whether they get contraception or AIDS; whether they get contraception or have an abortion; whether they get contraception or the back of our hands. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment offered by the gentleman from Oklahoma that would require teens to obtain written parental consent before receiving any services at family planning clinics that receive title X funding. These clinics serve as critical entry points into the health care system for young people where they can obtain the full range of services including general checkups, routine gynecological exams, breast and cervical cancer screening, screening and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, screening for HIV, and family planning services. Adolescents already tend to underutilize existing health care services. Setting up more barriers to their access to services will only exacerbate this problem. These clinics strongly encourage their patients to discuss their concerns and cases with their parents.”