The Convention on the Rights of the Child acknowledges that adolescents can make their own decisions. However, many governments still require parental consent before they can access contraceptive information and services. This requirement can prevent young people from getting the reproductive health care they need.

Learn more about the human right to contraception here.

Emergency contraception (EC) is an effective birth control method. It works by disrupting or delaying ovulation or fertilization, which are necessary for pregnancy. However, EC is an underused resource, due in part to misinformation about its safety and false claims that it causes abortion. Barriers to accessing EC include:

• Requirements for a doctor’s prescription.
• Need for parental consent and minimum age.
• Pharmacists’ reluctance to provide EC to women and adolescents.
• Lack of awareness about EC.
• Legislative or policy restrictions.
• Lack of clear government policy on EC provision.

These factors make it harder for people to access the care they need.

States have specific duties to respect, protect, and fulfill the right to contraceptive information and services. 

• Respect: states must not interfere, directly or indirectly, with access to contraceptive information and services.

• Protect: states must stop third parties from violating a woman’s right to contraceptive information and services. States must also investigate and punish these violations.

• Fulfill: States should take all necessary steps—legislative, budgetary, judicial, and administrative—to ensure women have their full right to contraceptive information and services.