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Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

No.

Nine states, including Wisconsin, have no law specifying whether minors can obtain contraceptives without parental consent.

However, Wisconsin residents under age 18 can get birth control independently.

Clinics receiving federal Title X family planning funds cannot require parental consent.

One state of Wisconsin program offers free contraceptives to low-income minors without notifying parents.

And Wisconsin law requires that foster children receive confidential family planning services.

The lack of a law means some providers “may require parental consent out of an abundance of caution,” said Marquette University law professor Lisa Mazzie.

Parents might be notified by their health insurers if their children get contraception using insurance.

In the latest national survey by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2023, 32% of high school students reported ever having sex, down from 47% in 2013; 52% used a condom during their last sexual intercourse; 33% used hormonal birth control.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

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Tom Kertscher joined Wisconsin Watch as a full-time reporter in October 2024. He started as a fact checker in January 2023 and contributes to our collaboration with the The Gigafact Project to fight misinformation online. Kertscher is a former longtime newspaper reporter, including at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He is a contributing writer for Milwaukee Magazine and sports freelancer for The Associated Press.