January 11, 2023: Statement on Deanda v Becerra
Every Body Texas will continue to support its Title X funded clinics and the young people they serve to the best of our ability.
Yesterday, the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas confirmed its final judgment issued on December 21st in the Deanda v Becerra case. While Every Body Texas fundamentally disagrees with the court’s judgment and believes that it ignores decades of established law, we are at this time continuing to advise our Title X sub-recipients in the state to require parental consent for contraceptive services as we await next steps in the case and guidance from the Office of Population Affairs.
The Court’s judgment improperly declares that Title X regulations do not preempt state law regarding parental consent. We believe that is a clear misinterpretation of the law but it nonetheless creates legal threats for Title X healthcare providers in Texas unless they comply with state laws regarding parental consent.
In addition to binding the hands of providers, who have for decades provided trusted, expert confidential contraceptive care to minors, this judgement denigrates the rights of young people in our state. Stephanie LeBleu, Acting Title X Project Director for Every Body Texas noted, “Young people are particularly harmed by laws and court judgements that ignore their humanity, compromise their futures and dismiss their right to their own bodies. This harm intensifies for young BIPOC, LGBTQI, poor, disabled, rural people and those that exist at the intersections of these groups.” For years young people have depended on Title X clinics to provide confidential care and to support the healthy choices they make for their futures.
Every Body Texas hopes that the US Department of Health and Human Services will take all available legal actions to protect the rights of Title X providers and the young people that depend on and trust them to provide care. “We want nothing more than to rescind our guidance, for our providers to be able to continue providing the trusted care they always have, and for all Texas teens to have the right to make their own reproductive life decisions,” said LeBleu. Every Body Texas will continue to support its Title X funded clinics and the young people they serve to the best of our ability.
Every Body Texas funds and supports a network of 32 agencies that operate 156 clinic sites across Texas. Other Title X services remain accessible to all people, regardless of age or parental consent. These include STI testing and treatment, pregnancy testing, barrier methods, and counseling and information on contraception.
Every Body Texas is also continuing to offer over-the-counter emergency contraception through our EC for Every Body project. Repro kits containing two doses of generic over-the-counter EC (a generic version of Plan B), condoms, pregnancy tests, and information may be requested through our website regardless of a person’s age and will be shipped anywhere in Texas for free.
https://www.everybodytexas.org/emergency-contraception
For additional information requests related to the legal aspects of the Deanda v Becerra case, Every Body Texas invites you to contact our legal counsel, Elizabeth Myers at emyers@thompsoncoburn.com.
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