State Gives 10-Yr-Olds Free Birth Control Implants

Children as young as 10 years old are receiving taxpayer-funded birth control in Washington State, according to public records obtained by Judicial Watch from the agency that provides medical coverage for the poor.

JW filed a public records request with the Washington Health Care Authority after reading a disturbing article in a pro-life news site over the summer about a Seattle high school that offers different forms of birth control without parental knowledge or consent. This includes implanting an intrauterine device (IUD) in a girl’s uterus free of cost. It’s part of an initiative offered by Medicaid, the joint federal and state insurance program for the poor. The article points out the irony that a teen in Seattle can’t get a sugary soft drink in high school but can have a device implanted into her uterus.

The data obtained by JW reflect increasing numbers of kids in all age groups receiving these birth control implants from 2013 to 2014. Figures can’t be compared for 2015 because the full year’s data is not yet available, but the records show that in 2014 and at least part of 2015, girls as young as 10 received the implants. The largest group of minors that got the birth control implants was 17 years old, according to the data, but girls much younger also received them. Four 11-year-olds got birth control from the state during the 2 ½- year period and so did more than 100 girls between the ages of 12 and 13. The numbers go up as the girls get older with 364 girls age 14 getting the implants and 744 15-year-olds. The records show that 2,336 girls ages 16 to 17 were given implants during this period.

JW also asked the Washington State agency for records involving the number of adverse health events reported for girls who had received the implants during those years, but no data was produced. Evidently, the state isn’t tracking the negative health consequences from administering the implants in young girls. As part of the investigation JW also requested a breakdown of girls that got parental consent and those who didn’t, but the state evidently doesn’t keep track and no records were produced.

This seems to be part of a trend among some states to offer children highly questionable medical care without getting permission from a parent. Last month a separate JW investigation found that Oregon offers minors taxpayer-funded sex change without parental consent. In a matter of months dozens of kids—some younger than 9—received sex-change therapy in Oregon, which earlier this year made it legal for minors to undergo radical treatment for “gender dysphoria” without permission from a parent or guardian.

The figures are unbelievable. Documents obtained by JW from the Oregon Health Authority that show 56 minors received assessments or therapy related to “gender dysphoria” under the state’s taxpayer-funded health plan since January. Seven of the children were aged 0-9, 22 were between the ages of 10 to 14 and 27 were 15-17 years old. The publicly-subsidized Oregon Health Plan delivers treatment that can include hormone-suppressing drugs and surgery for those who claim to have gender identity disorder. Seventeen of the minors received hormone treatments or other drugs. This is described in the state documents as “medications to suppress puberty in gender questioning youth.”