Did you know that COLFS Medical Clinic provides comprehensive medical care for all ages, including children? As your child enters puberty, it is especially important to consider Catholic pediatric care. At age 12, legally in California, children are allowed to make health decisions privately, and without the consent or knowledge of their parents. While the intention is to give children the privacy to discuss embarrassing or sensitive topics related to their health, many health care providers also take time to discuss topics like contraception and gender identity, and may encourage children to seek services contrary to Catholic moral teaching. In California, health care providers must receive consent from the minor before informing parents about visits or services related to pregnancy, contraception, abortion, STDs, and more. Some providers might even discourage minors from discussing certain topics or treatments with their parents.
At their worst, these policies have the effect of turning families against one another, encouraging children to view their parents as hostile to their wellbeing. These and similar guidelines create societies which seek to replace the family as caretakers, mistakenly labeling independence or autonomy as freedom. Pope St. John Paul II wrote that “society – more specifically the State – must recognize that the family is a society in its own original right… the State cannot and must not take away from families the functions that they can just as well perform on their own or in free associations; instead it must positively favor and encourage as far as possible responsible initiative by families” (Familiaris Consortio, 45).
While it is important to teach children how to manage their personal health and wellbeing, it is equally important to provide them with compassionate guidance rooted in proper moral and ethical principles. Families, knowing their child and their circumstances, are in a uniquely privileged position to provide that guidance, while physicians have the medical expertise to offer advice and options for care. Whenever possible, doctors and parents should cooperate, not compete, to help children make decisions.
This is the model we follow at COLFS. Our providers attend to children with compassion and care, and will offer medical advice which is in line with the moral teachings of the Catholic Church. With this approach, vital family relationships are maintained and strengthened in love and trust. Pope St. John Paul II wrote that “the love that animates the interpersonal relationships of the different members of the family constitutes the interior strength that shapes and animates the family communion and community” (Familiaris Consortio, 21). As we prepare for Lent, may the love of Christ be a model for our families, guiding us through the trials of our lives and into a greater communion with one another!