Sexual minority youth often have unmet health care needs. Gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, trans-gendered and questioning adolescents (GLBTQ) face tremendous challenges growing up physically and mentally healthy in a culture that is often not accepting.


Reproductive health care and family planning providers should not assume that their pregnant patients are heterosexual or that GLTBQ youth do not require family planning counseling. Resources to review when working with these populations include:

• Transitions: A quarterly newsletter from Advocates for Youth, with a specific issue on Respecting the Rights of GLTBQ (pdf)
  
  
• Just the Facts About Sexual Orientation & Youth (pdf) A Primer for Principals, Educators and School Principals gives an overview of sexual orientation development and provides examples of recent trends such as reparative therapy and transformational ministries.