Parental Notice for Birth Control Isn’t Needed, HHS Tells Court

The Fifth Circuit should overturn a decision that requires taxpayer-funded family planning providers to tell parents when minors seek their services, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said.

The December 2022 decision by Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, which vacated a US Health and Human Services rule intended to protect minors’ confidentiality, was seen as opening a new front in the war over reproductive rights. The case is limited to minors, but birth-control advocates have said it’s part of coordinated campaign to restrict access to contraception nationwide.

Becerra’s appeal raises issues that the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit is also ...