Yes. Most clinics, like Planned Parenthood, are completely confidential, meaning your parents won’t know. But to be sure, when you call to make an appointment, ask them about their policy. Since each clinic works a little differently, you might want to ask some of the following questions: Will the clinic call you at home? Will they send a bill to you? Will they send other mail? And keep in mind that in some states, if a girl is seeking an abortion, her parents must be notified.

If you choose to use your parent’s insurance, then your parents will see the bill. But Planned Parenthood and other clinics use a “sliding scale” payment system that makes their services less expensive than at a private doctor’s office, so you can pay with cash.

Usually, family planning clinics ask your permission to send things home, and they use plain, unmarked envelopes. If you do not want to give your home address, you could give a friend’s address, as long as you have your friend’s permission. Many teens choose to give e-mail addresses to communicate with their health care providers.

If clinic staff need to get in touch with you over the phone, they may tell you a code name they use, instead of identifying themselves as a clinic. So, for example, you might get a message that “Wanda” called, and you’ll know you need to call the clinic. And, of course, you can always use your cell phone.

If you want to make an appointment, you can find one in your area by looking in your local yellow pages under “family planning” or “clinics.” You can also visit the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association’s clinic directory, or call 1-800-230-PLAN (7526) to be connected automatically to the Planned Parenthood health center nearest you.