Will Florida Teens With Sexually Transmitted Diseases Have To Tell Their Parents Before They Can Get Treatment?
In an ideal world, teenagers would not be engaging in risky sexual activity and would not be catching sexually transmitted infections (STIs). But we do not live in an ideal world. And young people are often dumb. The best we can hope for is that when some young people make bad decisions, these will not result in dire or lifelong consequences.
If, say, some 16-year-old has unprotected sex and catches chlamydia, we should hope that the teen will get treated—even if that means telling a parent what is going on. But, is this likely? Given an option between telling a parent they’re sexually active and simply shutting up and hoping for the best, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to worry that teens may choose the latter.
That’s why it’s probably a good idea not to condition STI treatment on parental consent. You risk stopping young people from seeking testing and treatment in the first place.
But Americans—especially in states like Florida and Texas—seem to be in the midst of a panic about parental approval. And it doesn’t seem to hinge so much on stopping risky or dangerous behavior as giving parents ultimate control over all aspects of their children’s lives, even when these children are adolescents or on the cusp of adulthood. We want parents to have to approve the books and ideas they’re exposed to in school, the apps they can download, and the social media platforms they join.
Now, Florida wants to require parental consent before a minor can be treated for an STI.
STI Treatment Consent: What About Minors’ Rights?
Notably, no one seems to even pretend that this is about helping minors—some of whom surely have good reason not to tell their parents if they’re sexually active and may refrain from treatment rather than doing so.
No, proponents of the bill keep talking about parental rights.
Of course, rights are important, especially when it comes to areas where the state is trying to substitute its judgment for that of parents.
But children also have rights and should be granted increasing autonomy in exercising these rights as they approach adulthood. And consenting to sensitive but nonrisky medical treatment to stop dangerous complications and further spreading of disease seems like a prime area for allowing older minors some autonomy.
Florida lawmakers do not see it this way, apparently. A pair of bills—House Bill 1505 and Senate Bill 1288—that would ban minors getting treated for STIs without parental consent “have cleared all of their committee stops in both chambers,” the Florida Phoenix reports.
If this becomes law, Florida would become the first state to deny minors the right to consent to STI services, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Requiring Consent for Mental Health Care, Substance Abuse Treatment, and School Surveys
The House version of the bill would also let parents opt kids of all ages out of t
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