Clearer Choices Column: Obamacare and Youth Part II

As detailed previously, Section 2951 required states to identify “at risk families”; establish home monitoring, and collect and maintain records on these families. As was noted, the definition of “at risk families” is broader than one would expect. The stated goal is to reduce teen pregnancies and lessen the impact of sexually transmitted diseases.

To further this goal the states are required in Section 2953 to establish “Personal Responsibility Education” programs. The programs must of course include the standard “age appropriate” sex education curriculum starting at age 10, but must also include 3 of 6 “Personal Responsibility” curriculums.

They include: Healthy Relationships, Adolescent Development, Financial Literacy, Parent-Child Communication, Educational and Career Success, and Healthy Life Skills. These sound quite positive but sometimes the devil is in the details.

The “healthy relationships” curriculum, for example, must include instruction on “positive self-esteem and relationship dynamics, friendships, dating, romantic involvement, marriage and family interactions.” The other sections are just as personal. In fact, parental input seems to be unnecessary, in fact, after reading them, one wonders what exactly parents are needed for.

There is another section that bears mentioning, Section 2955. This section provides for children leaving foster care, to designate a health care power of attorney if “the child does not have or does not want a relative who would be authorized under state law to make such decisions.”

Two parts of this are troubling. First, a child is now usurping a parent or relative’s rights if they do not “want” them to have them. Secondly, “state law” may now be over ruled by the Secretary of HHS who does not answer to Congress.

These sections seem to validate Obamacare’s critics who assert that this is a law about control, not healthcare. The few health services detailed are currently being provided by other programs, but the abolishment of state law, the loss of personal privacy, and the usurping of parental rights in child rearing are unprecedented.

November remains the last opportunity to repeal Obamacare.

Next week: Obamacare’s Impact on Young Adults

Diana Rydzewski resides in Greenwich Township.