Legal and Ethical Issues in the Provision of Adolescent Reproductive Health in the United States

Abstract

In providing comprehensive, evidence based reproductive health care to adolescents, understanding the legal and ethical issues surrounding informed consent and confidentiality is one of the many challenges faced by care providers. Informed consent is an active process between the patient and health care provider but varying state and federal laws contribute to provider’s uncertainty and ambiguity around practice policies and management options. This article describes issues surrounding legal and ethical issues of informed consent and confidentiality for adolescents seeking reproductive health services.