"A step back" is what some Tennessee senators are calling a new bill that would limit a minors ability to choose to be vaccinated without a parent
“A step back” is what some Tennessee senators are calling a new bill that would limit a minors ability to choose to be vaccinated without a parent or guardian’s consent.
It all follows Tennessee’s controversial policies during the pandemic when it came to promoting vaccines.
“This bill is creating a solution to a problem that doesn’t even exist,” says Senator London Lamar.
“The mature minor doctrine clarification act simply clarifies that parents are the ones who have the right to make vaccination decisions, and the only entity that can take that away from the parents is the court,” says Senator Janice Bowling.
Senator London Lamar says she thinks taking a minors choice about their health away can be harmful.
“It could have long term implications on children’s ability to get vaccinated and children’s ability to go to college without certain vaccinations because of their parents conspiracy theories,” says Senator Lamar.
So what about kids who are required to be vaccinated for school?
“If a child comes into the school, they have to have certain vax. Does this exclude those children?” asked Senator Todd Gardenhire.
“No. What this says is that parents have the right to authorize those vaccinations, no one else does,” Senator Bowling replied.
Rep. John Ragan, the House sponsor of the bill told us…
“Parents are responsible for the well-being of their children and should have the final say in all of their health care decisions. The Mature Minor Doctrine Clarification Act will ensure that occurs in Tennessee by requiring informed consent from a parent or legal guardian before a child receives a vaccination. This legislation also includes important protections for children who are in the state’s custody as well as accountability for health care providers who disobey the law. Parental rights should be respected in our state, and this bill would help accomplish that.”
There are exceptions for those in DCS care.
The Department of Children Services says the bill would allow them to petition a court to get an order for vaccinations but
“We would be prohibited from obtaining vaccinations for children in our legal custody, unless the parent had consented or if their rights had been terminated, and all appeals had been exhausted.”
Tennessee’s Department of Health decided in 2021 to stop promoting vaccines for adolescents against all diseases, including COVID-19.
But lawmakers claim the bill is about more than just the Coronavirus.
“Would you be willing to amend this to just apply to the COVID-19 vaccine?” asked Senator Lamar.
“No, because this is not about the COVID-19 vaccine. This is about parental rights, according to Tennessee law,” replied Senator Bowling.
We reached out to DCS for further comment on how this would affect minors in their care.
They told us they will not comment on pending bills.
The bill passed the Senate Monday and moves on to the House Calendar & Rules Committee.
