Your right to:
Privacy/Confidentiality | Affordable Care
Healthcare Services | Safe Schools
As a young person in Rhode Island, you have the right to lead a healthy life by having full access to confidential and affordable health care. Your legal right to sexual and reproductive health care includes accessing birth control, condoms, emergency contraception, abortion, pregnancy testing, prenatal care, STI testing and treatment.
Confidentiality means that you can access the services you need without anybody knowing. Though Rhode Island law does not clearly outline access to confidential services for minors, the one clear exception is STI/HIV testing, which people under 18 are able to receive without parental permission.
If you are covered by another person’s health insurance plan (like your parent or spouse), you can complete a Confidential Communications Request, which is available from your health insurer; some health insurers may allow you to request an alternate address or email address by calling customer service.
This form lets the insurance plan know that you want all information about the care you accessed sent directly to you, not to the person who has the health insurance, like your parent or spouse.
The information can be sent to an alternate mailing address or email address or by a phone call directly to you. If you want to complete this form, let your health care provider know (you’ll need to know the name of your insurer).
Here are customer service numbers for health insurers in Rhode Island:
It’s important to know that there are some situations where a provider may be required to share your personal information with others outside your care team.
This would happen if they believe you are putting yourself or someone else in danger, or if they believe that you have been abused or neglected or have been the victim of sexual abuse. This is called mandatory reporting, and it is a way to keep you safe and get you the support you need.
If you don’t have insurance:
Rhode Island’s Title X (Title Ten) program, which provides affordable birth control and reproductive health care to people with low incomes, can help teens access many sexual and reproductive health services, like STI/HIV testing and treatment, pregnancy tests, prescription birth control, and counseling. It also includes preventive services, like physical exams and cancer screenings, but it does not pay for abortions or prenatal care.
The services provided under the Title X program are confidential, meaning you can use these services without an adult’s permission. The costs are determined based on your income, including options for services at no cost if you make below a certain amount.
For a listing of organizations offering sexual and reproductive health services, visit the Find Care & Condoms in Rhode Island page.
If you have insurance:
It probably pays for pregnancy tests, STI testing and treatment, and abortions. If it covers prescription drugs, that should include birth control methods like pills, shots, and diaphragms.
If you are covered by another person’s health insurance plan (like your parent or spouse) and don’t want them to find out, there are ways to protect your confidentiality. See Confidentiality above.
Depending on the service you are looking for, you may (or may not) need the permission of a parent or guardian.
Do I need my parent or guardian’s permission? In Rhode Island:
More info about Rhode Island:
Do I need my parent or guardian’s permission? In Rhode Island: NO
Find services for STI testing and treatment
Do I need my parent or guardian’s permission? In Rhode Island: NO
Rhode Island healthcare providers can test for HIV without permission from the patient if:
Find services for STI testing and treatment
Do I need my parent or guardian’s permission? In Rhode Island:
Get free condoms by mail or at various Rhode Island locations
Do I need my parent or guardian’s permission? In Rhode Island:
Learn more about birth control
Find places to get birth control
Do I need my parent or guardian’s permission? In Rhode Island:
Learn more about emergency contraception
Do I need my parent or guardian’s permission? In Rhode Island:
More info about Rhode Island:
Do I need my parent or guardian’s permission? In Rhode Island:
Everyone has the right to SCHOOLS SAFE FROM SEXUAL VIOLENCE, regardless of gender. Remember that sexual violence is not just rape. It includes many forms of unwanted sexual attention, including physical contact and harassment.
If you have experienced any kind of sexual violence at school, you can (and should) report it to your school leaders (according to Title IX – prounounced Title Nine – of the Educational Amendments of 1972). Every school/district must have a Title IX coordinator who can support any report of sexual harassment or misconduct.
Title IX gives survivors of sexual violence at any public school the legal right to ask for and receive “supportive measures” from their school after they have suffered sexual violence. These supportive measures may include no-contact orders, schedule changes or assignment extensions, along with others that may be helpful for a survivor. Learn more about Title IX and your rights at school at knowyourix.org.
Find your school district’s Title IX coordinator at ocrcas.ed.gov/civ-rts-coordinators.
Roo answers all your awkward questions about sexual health, relationships, growing up, and more. Chatting with Roo is free and private, so go ahead and ask the things you don't want to ask out loud. Roo's answers are backed by professional health educators from Planned Parenthood, the most trusted provider of sexual education.
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