Minors and the right to consent to health care.

The notion that many minors have the capacity and, indeed, the right to make important decisions about health care has been well established in federal and state policy. Many states specifically authorize minors to consent to contraceptive services, testing and treatment for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, prenatal care and delivery services, treatment for alcohol and drug abuse, and outpatient mental health care. With the exception of abortion, lawmakers have generally resist ed attempts to impose a parental consent or notification requirement on minors’ access to reproductive health care and other sensi tive services. Nevertheless, the movement to “restore” parental rights and to legislate parental control over minors’ reproductive health care decisions remains active.