If you haven’t read that one yet you can do so here.

If you are planning on having sex, it is vital that you do so safely. If you are a vagina-owner who wants to prevent pregnancy, birth control pills are a safe bet. However, if you’re still living at home there is always a possibility that your parents don’t want you to have sex and therefore don’t want you to go on birth control.

While it is important to respect your parents, it is your body and protecting it to the best of your ability should be your goal. So, here are three ways to go about getting birth control pills (if you are over fourteen) without needing parental consent.

Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood is amazing and will absolutely help you with your birth control needs. If you are in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Minnesota, or Washington state. Planned Parenthood will send birth control pills right to your door after you have a brief video visit with a provider. Otherwise, there are 650 Planned Parenthood clinics across the country and as long as you are legally old enough for birth control pills, you can get up to a year of birth control at a time for little or no cost. I highly recommend going into a clinic as it is the best way to learn about all of your options and it is easy to return to see the same provider in case there are any problems.

 

Online Birth Control Prescription Services

There are quite a few companies that will deliver birth control to your door. HelloFlo has an entire article dedicated to these companies, you can find that here. Some of them take insurance and some do not, however if you are hoping to keep your birth control prescription to yourself, if is better to not use insurance. For this particular situation Nurx is your best bet. It is $15/month, they send discreet packaging, and they will prescribe to anybody who is legally allowed to have birth control with or without insurance. Nurx is only available in California, New York, Washington DC, and Washington state, so if you are outside of those states I recommend Prjkt Ruby, which is a little more expensive, but will service your state.

 

Adolescent Organizations

There are adolescent organizations across the country that help young people get the services they need. My favorite of these organizations, The Door, is based in NYC and offers membership to anybody 12-24. The purpose of these clinics is to help adolescents get the help they need both in terms of health and other resources, such as internship placement and nutritional needs. You can find your closest organization by asking a teacher or your school nurse. Also, many universities (such as Stanford University) have teen and adolescent clinics with helpful websites and hotlines you can call with questions.

Congratulations on caring about your personal sexual health. It is a true feat that you care about the safety of your body. Good luck on your birth control mission!

Cover image courtesy of Getty Images.

By Hannah Rimm on January 2, 2017
Hannah Rimm is a writer, educator, and filmmaker living in New York City. When she isn't writing, she is the marketing coordinator at an Academy Award-nominated arthouse animation company.