The Age Of Consent Law

The Age of Consent Law states at what age a person is considered old enough to have sex or marry. The law was deemed necessary to protect minors from being sexually exploited by adults.

In the United States the age of consent varies from state to state but is generally between the ages of 16 and 18. In 1880 the age of consent in Oregon was 10, it was bumped up to 16 in 1920 and has since been raised to 18.

But what does the age of consent really mean? It Is clearly the state stepping in to protect minors from sexual exploitation by adults. Why did the state of Oregon deem it necessary to increase the age from 16 to 18? We laud the increase and might assume, given the over-sexualization of children, that the increase in age was to add further protection for minors. However, if one were to take a closer look you might find the opposite to be true.

It is ironic that in Oregon a minor can receive contraceptive care at any age without parental knowledge or consent. If your 11 year old daughter visits her school-based health clinic or a Title X Planned Parenthood health clinic and requests birth control pills, she will receive them. Yet it is against the law for a minor to consent to sex until they are 18 years old. Further, it is against the law for the health care provider to notify the parent of the health care services their child receives at a school-based health clinic because of the child’s right to privacy. What’s more, if the parent has health insurance, the school-based health clinic will bill the insurance company and the parent will never know what type health care the child accessed. You can thank House Bill 2758 – Patient Provider Privacy Act of 2015, the Oregon legislature, ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Basic Rights Oregon, Cascade Aids Project and Oregon Latino Health Coalition for caring so much about your child’s right to privacy. As for your parental rights, expect more infringement on your rights to direct the education and health care of your child in the state of Oregon. Could this be considered sexual exploitation by these organizations? Why do they care so much about the sex life of minors? What do these organizations have to gain?