Florida Bill to Restore Parents’ Rights in Medical Decisions

All over the country, parents just like you are frustrated over their inability to access their child’s medical records. Age twelve or thirteen is far too young for your child to be making major medical decisions, and both you and your child’s doctor know it. Yet, somehow, you can’t see your child’s medical records without your child’s permission.

(Providers routinely blame the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, but HIPAA sets the default age at eighteen. If it is legally lower than that, it has been lowered by state law.)

Think of the absurdity. You have to tell your twelve-year-old that no, she can’t have ice cream for dinner. But you have to secure her permission to see her medical chart.

Fortunately, in Florida we are pushing back.

House Bill 173 (HB 173), sponsored by Rep. Kim Kendall, passed the House Health & Human Services Committee on January 27, then the House Judiciary Committee on February 10. It is now in the Education & Employment Committee, where it must be voted out before it can to the House Floor. (In Florida, bills must pass three committees before a floor vote in each chamber.)

According to a one-pager from Parental Rights Florida, this bill provides “three clear wins” for parents: “Parents will always see their child’s medical records and must approve any treatment;” “no survey on sensitive topics can be given without parents’ written okay;” and “schools can’t use [a] biofeedback device on a child unless the parent agrees.”

These are simple, commonsense measures to empower parents to protect their child’s privacy and wellbeing.

In its 1979 Parham v. J.R. ruling, the Supreme Court declared that “most children, even in adolescence, simply are not able to make sound judgments concerning many decisions, including their need for medical care or treatment. Parents can and must make those judgments.” Since then, many state laws have pushed parents out, ignoring that ruling and putting more and more responsibility on minors who are not ready for it.

This bill corrects all of that by recognizing the truths that the Supreme Court declared: Children need their parents in such times as these.

Senate Bill 166 (SB 166), sponsored by Sen. Erin Grall, is the companion bill to HB 173, and it is facing a tougher time in the Senate. It has not yet been scheduled in its first committee, but we are hopeful to see movement soon.

A similar bill last year stalled in the Senate, but some things have changed since then.

For starters, House hearings have featured more parents, doctors, and policy experts this year than last. And those parents and doctors are especially passionate and vocal. They are articulate, and they have stories to tell, which they are telling clearly.

But we also have an ace up our sleeve: our very own Patti Sullivan. Patti is a member of the Parental Rights Foundation board and the founder of Parental Rights Florida, and she has been in Tallahassee for every day of this current session. She is visiting lawmakers, attending hearings, meeting with witnesses, and just generally educating lawmakers on why parental rights matter so much.

Patti is not getting paid for this service; she is doing all of this out of her own pocket (and her husband, Jim’s), and out of her passion for families in the Sunshine State. She was there last year when the measure failed on the last day of session, and she is doing all she can to keep that from happening again this year.

If you live in Florida, I urge you to follow Parental Rights Florida on Facebook or Instagram, and Patti will let you know directly when you need to take action to support this bill. (We will continue to keep you posted with major updates as well.)

If you don’t live in Florida, now is the time to start talking to your own lawmakers about bringing a similar bill next year to wherever you live. Our aim is not just to win in Florida as an end in itself, but rather that Florida should be just the beginning.

Working together, we can secure our children’s health by empowering parents all over the country—one state at a time.

Thank you for standing with us to protect children by empowering parents in the Sunshine State and in every state.