Texas lawsuit fuels conversation about teen birth control access

In other discussions, a Pennsylvania bill bringing free menstrual products to schools calls attention to issues of cost and access.

This past week, online conversations about reproductive health covered birth control access, rising infant deaths, and period poverty (or the inability to afford or access menstrual products). However, a Texas lawsuit aiming to require parental consent for all minors seeking birth control generated the most discussion.

While news stories about these topics weren’t directly linked to abortion—which is typically the main driver of online discourse about reproductive health—the resulting discussions highlighted the consequences of state abortion restrictions, as well as the need for better, more inclusive sex education and menstrual health education. In response, public health communicators have an opportunity to share local resources for birth control, prenatal care, and menstrual health education and products.

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What’s trending nationally in conversations about reproductive health

On July 25, the Texas attorney general filed a lawsuit against the federal government for allowing adolescents to access birth control without parental consent. He argued that Title X—which confidentially provides birth control to minors, along with other preventative health services for low-income and uninsured people—violates Texas’s law requiring parental consent for birth control. However, Texas minors currently cannot access birth control without parental consent because a federal judge ruled in 2022 that Title X violates Texas parents’ rights. An appeals court from March of this year mostly upheld the 2022 ruling, finding that Title X does not supersede Texas parental rights law, but leaving in place a Title X rule that stops clinics from requiring parental consent before providing services. The current lawsuit is meant to clarify that mixed ruling. Within a day of the attorney general’s lawsuit, the story spread across multiple news websites and social media platforms. One Reddit post sharing an article about the lawsuit received approximately 33,000 upvotes and 3,200 comments as of July 30. Most comments expressed concern about limiting birth control access in Texas, especially given the state’s near-total abortion ban. One read, “But this won’t stop teenagers from having sex. What it will do is force thousands of teenaged girls in TX to give birth (because of their draconian abortion ban).”

Also on July 25, the CDC released data showing that infant mortality rates rose in the U.S. in 2022 for the first time in 20 years. Infant mortality rates were highest among Black infants, and American Indian and Alaska Native infant deaths surged more than 20 percent in one year. Maternal complications as a cause of infant death increased by 9 percent. Some social media users who shared articles about this data noted that the overturning of Roe v. Wade and other barriers to reproductive health care—particularly for Black and Indigenous people—may account for the increase in infant deaths.

On July 26, Pennsylvania’s governor shared an Instagram post announcing the bipartisan passage of a bill that will provide free menstrual products in schools. The post, which received approximately 23,000 likes as of July 30, read, “We’re putting pads and tampons in our schools so girls don’t have to miss class and they can focus on learning.” While many comments on the post thanked the governor for passing the bill, some suggested that free menstrual products in schools are “unnecessary.” Some comments also expressed that free menstrual products will benefit all students with menstrual cycles—not just those who identify as girls.

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Recommendations for public health professionals

Each week, the Infodemiology.com team will provide messaging recommendations in response to some of the trending narratives outlined above. These helpful tips can be used when creating content, updating web and FAQ pages, and developing strategy for messaging about reproductive health. 

Given the spike in news stories and social media posts about birth control for adolescents, young people may have questions about how they can access birth control and whether they will need parental consent to do so. Sharing local health centers that provide birth control to minors and ensuring that informational materials outline privacy laws in your state is recommended. Recirculating materials explaining how to use condoms and where people can access them for free is also recommended.

Conversations about infant deaths provide an opportunity for community organizations, public health departments, and other partners—particularly those that serve Black and Indigenous populations—to share local clinics that provide free or low-cost prenatal care. Circulating content outlining how people can access abortion in your state, as well as financial resources to help cover the cost, is recommended.

Debate about the necessity of free menstrual health products provides an opportunity to share materials that provide basic menstrual health information and outline the different types of menstrual products and how to use them. Ensuring that all menstrual health informational materials use gender-inclusive language is recommended.