Sex ed Rights

• Michigan state law does not require sex ed is taught in schools, though HIV/AIDS education is required.
• If a local school board decides to allow sex ed to be taught in their district, that school board has to create an advisory board to review all the materials and curricula. The advisory board must include parents, students, educators, clergy, and health professionals.
• Abstinence is to be discussed as “a responsible method of preventing unwanted or out-of-wedlock pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease[s]” and as “a positive lifestyle for unmarried young people.”
• Parents are to receive notice of any sex ed class and be allowed to review its content. Parents can also remove their child or children from any or all sex ed classes. This is called an “opt-out” policy.
• If you want your school to offer a comprehensive sex ed in your school, be sure to learn more at SIECUS about Michigan. You can make a difference!

HIV/AIDS and Other STDs Education

• Michigan state law requires STDs and HIV/AIDS education.

Age of Minority

17

• The age when someone is no longer considered a minor in Michigan, as in most states, is 18. Therefore, you are legally considered an adult at age 18.
• In Michigan, if you are under 18 and married, you are also considered an adult, legally.
• Keep in mind that these laws may be different for you if you are legally considered an emancipated minor, pregnant minor or married minor.
• Being a minor (under 18) affects your right to information and services. To learn more, read on!

Age of Consent

16

• Legally, people can’t consent (or agree) to sex (with someone who is considered an adult) until they reach a specific age. This is called the “age of consent.”Consent laws are meant to protect minors from being manipulated or forced into sex with older people.
• The age of consent in Michigan is 16.

LGBTQ Rights

• Public school students in Michigan are not legally protected from bullying or discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
• State hate crime law does not include sexual orientation or gender identity.
• There are statewide anti-discrimination laws, but they do not clearly include sexual orientation or gender identity.
• If discrimination, harassment or a hate crime happens to you or someone you know, please call the Gay and Lesbian National Hotline at 1-888-THE-GLNH (843-4564) for help and support, or check out Lambda Legal. No one deserves discrimination or harassment!

HIV / AIDS Testing

• You don’t need permission from your parent or guardian to get tested for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV in Michigan. However, a health care provider may—but is not required to—inform your parents.
• If you’re a minor, it’s important for you to 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 infections, including HIV.
• 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

• In Michigan, only a married a minor (someone under 18) can get a prescription for birth control without a parent’s permission, so most minors need a parent’s permission to get prescription birth control. Also, a health care provider may—but is not required to—inform your parents.
• Clinics called “Title X clinics”—pronounced “title ten”—provide confidential 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 confidential, including your billing and your records.
• 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.
• Call 1-800-230-PLAN (7526) for the nearest Planned Parenthood.
• Or use this tool to find a Title X clinic near you:
• When you make an appointment for health care, ask about confidentiality rules. When you call, ask:
  • 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.

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.

• In Michigan, someone under 18 needs one parent’s permission to get an abortion. If this is not possible or is not right for you, you can ask a judge for permission. This is called “judicial bypass.”
• There is a 24-hour mandatory waiting period in Michigan before someone can get an abortion; once you have a parent or judge’s permission to receive an abortion, you have to wait 24 hours to get one.
• Michigan funds, through Medicaid (health care) coverage, abortions in cases of (the pregnant person’s) life endangerment or if the pregnancy is a result of rape and incest.
• 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.

Adoption

• In Michigan, teens get parent(s)’s permission to place their child for adoption.
• To learn more about adoption, 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.
• Visits to clinics known as Title X (ten) clinics are confidential for teens and adults.
• 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 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.
• 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 in order 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, which means you can buy EC without a prescription.
• EC sells for between $35 and $60. Prices vary depending on the brand and the pharmacy.
• To find an EC provider, call the Emergency Contraception Hotline at 1-888-NOT-2-LATE (668-2528). They can help you find access to EC if you’re having any trouble at all.
• Michigan does not require emergency rooms to provide EC or information on EC to rape survivors.
• If you have been raped and you want EC, 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

• There are no laws in Michigan specifically regarding teens sexting. However, sexting falls under state and federal child pornography regulations, which state that pictures of a person under 18 engaged in sexual behaviors is a crime.
• Be aware that having someone’s permission to take or share images of them is important, but even if you have permission, taking or sharing nude or sexual images of someone under 18, even yourself, could be considered illegal.