Sex ed Rights

• Arizona law does not require schools to teach sex ed. Even HIV education is not required.
• Schools that provide sex ed must have the lessons approved by their school board.
• Also, if sex ed is taught, it must:
  • Stress that students abstain from sex “until they are mature adults”
  • Be “age appropriate” and stress abstinence
  • Promote “monogamous heterosexual marriage” as an ideal standard
• Parents can take students out of sex ed classes if they want to, and Arizona requires written permission from parents for students to attend sex ed courses.
• Do you think the Arizona sex ed policies are discriminatory? Check out the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)website to see how you can help change this policy.

HIV/AIDS and Other STDs Education

• Arizona state law does not require public schools teach about STDs, including HIV.
• If you live in Arizona and want your school to offer a comprehensive sex ed, be sure to learn more at SIECUS. You can make a difference!

Age of Minority

17

• In Arizona, you are considered a minor (someone who is not an adult) if you are under 18 years old.
• Keep in mind that these laws may be different for you if you are legally considered an emancipated minor, pregnant minor, minor living apart or married minor.

Age of Consent

18

• Legally, teens of certain ages cannot consent or agree to sex until they reach a specific age. This is called the “age of consent.”
• In Arizona, you can legally consent to sex when you become 18 years old. You cannot legally consent if you are under 15. There are exceptions that include: someone who is at least 15 years of age and less than 18 years of age can consent if the other person is under 19, attending high school, or no more than 2 years older than the other person.
• Arizona laws about the age of consent are confusing! So get familiar with these laws, and keep in mind that the laws may be different depending on the type of sexual behavior—vaginal, anal or oral—and the gender of your partner.

LGBTQ Rights

• Arizona has anti-bullying (including cyberbullying) laws for public schools, but the law does not mention sexual orientation or gender identity.
• There are some anti-discrimination laws that include sexual orientation and gender but there are a lot of gaps. For example, hate crime laws protect groups based on sexual orientation but not on gender identity.
• If discrimination, harassment, or a hate crime happens to you or someone you know, please call the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender National Hotline at 1-888-THE-GLNH (843-4564), or check out Lambda Legal. No one deserves harassment or should have to put up with it.

HIV / AIDS Testing

• You don’t need permission from your parent or guardian to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV, in Arizona.
• As a teen, it’s very important you ask questions about confidentiality when you call to make your appointment. Specifically ask, “If I make an appointment and receive any kind of services at your clinic, will you tell my parents or anyone else?” This applies to all services, including testing for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV.
• To make sure your visit is confidential, tell the clinic staff how to contact you about test results and future appointments without your parents knowing.
• Arizona offers both anonymous and confidential HIV testing. This means that if you get tested for HIV, you can choose to either have your results confidentially reported to the health department using your name, or have your results anonymously reported to the health department using a number code, not your name.
• Find an HIV testing site in your area here or call the Centers for Disease Control’s 24-hour National AIDS Hotline at 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636).

Condoms

• People of any age, including teens, can buy condoms from a drugstore, pharmacy, grocery store or even online. A pack of twelve condoms costs about $12. Internal or female condoms are about $2 to $4 per condom.
• You can get condoms for free or at a reduced cost from health clinics (like Planned Parenthood), HIV testing centers and local health departments. Call 1-800-230-PLAN (7526) for the nearest Planned Parenthood.
• Always check the expiration date on condoms to make sure that the condoms haven’t expired yet. For information on how to use a condom correctly, check out this FAQ. Learn all about internal/female condoms on Sexetc.org.

Birth Control

• • • All minors are allowed to get a prescription for birth control without a parent’s permission.
    • Clinics called “Title X clinics”—pronounced “title ten”—provide sexual and reproductive health care to both teens and adults. Title X clinics offer many services, including prescriptions for the Pill, pregnancy option counseling, and testing for pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and infections, including HIV.
    • If you go to a Title X clinic, your appointment will be completely confidential.
    • These clinics charge on what’s called a sliding-scale fee basis, which means they help you pay what you can afford, and you can pay in cash. If you pay for your visit by using your family’s health insurance, then your parents are likely to see the bill when it arrives in the mail.
    • To make sure your visit is confidential, tell the clinic staff how to contact you about test results and future appointments without your parents knowing.
    • Use this tool to find a Title X clinic near you:

• • Or call 1-800-230-PLAN (7526) for the nearest Planned Parenthood.
  • If you go to a private doctor or physician, then you need to ask them about their confidentiality rules when you are making the appointment. Ask them when you call:
    • Can I get services at your office without my parents’ permission?
    • Can my parent/s have access to my records?
    • Will my parent/s see the bill?
  • It is your right to get sexual and reproductive health care where you feel safe and comfortable, so don’t worry about asking these questions if these questions are important to you.

Abortion Access

This section is currently being updated and may not have the most current information (as you know, these laws have been shifting quickly). We are working to refresh it ASAP! For now, you can see updated abortion policies here.

• If you are a minor and want an abortion, one parent must give his or her permission before you can get one. This is called “parental consent.” If that’s not possible, you are able to ask a judge for permission, or get special permission if it’s an emergency. This is called “judicial bypass.”
• You do not need parental consent if you are receiving an abortion because of abuse, assault, incest or neglect.
• You do need parental consent if it is a medical emergency.
• There is a 24-hour mandatory waiting period in your state before a teen can get an abortion.
• You must receive in-person counseling before obtaining an abortion.
• Your state provides Medicaid coverage for medically necessary abortions. If you need help paying for an abortion, call the National Abortion Federation Hotline at 1-800-772-9100, Monday–Friday, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday–Sunday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time). The hotline can tell you where and how to get financial help for an abortion in the U.S.
• To learn about the process of adoption and the services available, visit the National Council for Adoption and the Independent Adoption Center. You can also call the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse at 1-888-251-0075 for more information.

Adoption

• To learn about the process of adoption and the services available, visit the National Council for Adoption.

Pregnancy

• You do not need a prescription from a doctor or health care provider to get a pregnancy test. You can purchase a pregnancy test from a pharmacy, grocery store or online. They cost between $10 and $18. You can also take a pregnancy test at a doctor’s office or clinic, like Planned Parenthood. Many clinics offer free or reduced-cost pregnancy tests.
• All visits to clinics known as Title X (ten) clinics are confidential for teens and adults.
• You can call 1-800-230-PLAN (7526) for the nearest Planned Parenthood.
• If you pay for your visit by using your family’s health insurance, your parents are likely to see the details of your visit when the bill arrives. Almost all clinics provide free or reduced-cost services to teens to make it easier to afford services.
• To make sure your visit is confidential, tell the clinic staff how to contact you privately about test results and future appointments.
• Beware of so-called crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs). These centers claim to give you complete and accurate information about your pregnancy options when they actually want to discourage you from getting an abortion. They offer misleading and medically inaccurate information about abortion. Common names of these centers are “Crisis Pregnancy Center,” “Pregnancy Aid,” “Birth Right,” “Open Door” or “Pregnancy Counseling Center.” They are often set up near clinics and Planned Parenthood locations to confuse patients to accidentally enter the CPC instead.

Emergency Contraception

• There are several types—or “brands”—of emergency contraception, sometimes called EC or the morning after pill.
• People of any age can buy the brand Plan B One Step and its generic versions at a local pharmacy over the counter.
• In Arizona, it is legal for a pharmacist or pharmacy to refuse to provide EC on moral or ethical grounds. In other words, if a pharmacist doesn’t think a teen should use EC, they can refuse to give it to you.
• EC costs between $35 and $60. Prices vary depending on the brand and the pharmacy.
• To find a provider or clinic near you, call the Emergency Contraception Hotline at 1-888-NOT-2-LATE (668-2528).
• If you have been raped and you want EC, go to the emergency department of a hospital or call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). Open 24 hours, the hotline will connect you to EC providers near you. For other helpful information, check out the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network’s Web site.

Sexting

• In Arizona, it is a misdemeanor for minors to create, send or possess pictures of a minor who is naked or engaging in sexual behaviors. You can learn more at your state’s website.