My wife is a nurse at a walk-in clinic.
She used to shock me with some of the stories she came home with.
Case in point: Mothers bring in daughters for birth control because they have had their period. These girls are usually around 12 or 13 years old but some are younger. Mother’s say things like ‘She’s going to to do it - I don’t need her getting pregnant’.
One 10 year old needed birth control. When asked when her last period was she had no idea WHAT a period was. But mom wanted her to ‘be safe’.
Another common occurrence: Girls and boys with chlamydia or syphilis as young as 11.
Of course they are recorded and reported, but it does no good. Many repeat customers. So Sad.
I’ll bet the vast bulk of these walk-in “patients” are public school students.
"In all 50 states, minors can legally consent to testing and treatment for STIs and HIV. You don’t need a parent’s permission to get swabbed or treated. That right is built into public health law."
And that needs to change.
Oh, man, that is truly sad.