This revelation was made by the State Minister for Health, Dr. Ivan Butera, while presenting a draft law to the Chamber of Deputies on Monday, August 4. The bill seeks to grant adolescents aged 15 and above the right to access emergency contraception and post-rape care services without the presence or approval of a parent or guardian.

“Thirty-eight percent of children born to teenage girls suffer from stunting,” Dr. Butera told lawmakers. “It’s understandable a 15-year-old girl who becomes pregnant is unprepared. She may face mental health issues, and the child also suffers.”

Dr. Butera clarified that the proposed law does not alter the legal age of adulthood, which remains 18, but instead provides adolescents with timely access to critical health services.

“We are not undermining family responsibility; rather, we are protecting it. We don’t want anyone in need of reproductive health services to be denied simply because a parent is unavailable.”

He emphasized that sexual health education campaigns remain vital, but they are not enough on their own. The country must combine education with medical tools and services.

“We saw a similar pattern with HIV in 1981 awareness campaigns helped, but real impact came once antiretroviral medication and medical resources became widely available. Today, science has advanced to vaccines. We must use both education and access to care.”

According to the Ministry, nearly 9,000 children each year are born into conditions that put them at risk of stunting. Many of these cases are directly linked to unintended teenage pregnancies.

Some MPs supported the proposal while urging the government to do more to prevent adolescents from engaging in early sex. Others stressed the urgency of ensuring young victims of sexual violence receive care without legal or parental delays.

Hon. Veneranda Uwamariya, Chair of the Committee on Social Affairs, underscored that emergency contraceptives must be administered within 24 hours to be effective something often missed when adolescents must wait for a parent or guardian.

“A child may be raped, and when they reach a hospital, they are turned away because their parent is not present,” she said. “This law is not about encouraging teenage sex it’s about protecting lives.”

If passed, the law is expected to improve access to essential reproductive health services for adolescents and reduce the number of children affected by malnutrition and poor maternal conditions.