California Democrats want to give minors the right to get a vaccine without parental consent.
Introduced by Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener, the bill would allow kids ages 12-17 to decide whether to get any vaccine that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Currently in California, minors ages 12 to 17 cannot be vaccinated without permission from their parents or guardians, unless the vaccine is specifically to prevent a sexually transmitted disease. Parental consent laws for vaccinations vary by state and region, and a few places such as Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., allow kids 11 and up, and in San Francisco 12 and older, to consent to their own COVID-19 vaccines. […]
If the bill passes, California would allow the youngest age of any state to be vaccinated without parental permission. (Associated Press)
“You have parents who are blocking their kids from getting the vaccines or ... they may not be anti-vaccine but they just aren’t prioritizing it,” Wiener told reporters at a news conference at San Francisco’s Everett Middle School. “Those kids deserve the right to protect themselves.”
~1M 12-17 year olds in CA aren’t vaccinated for COVID. Many want to get vaccinated but parents won’t let them or aren’t making the time to take them. Teens shouldn’t have to rely on parents’ views & availability to protect themselves from a deadly virus. https://t.co/50LGbIpV9h
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) January 21, 2022
SB 866 allows 12-17 year olds to consent to any vaccine approved or granted emergency use authorization by the FDA & recommended by the CDC. As with anyone else, they’ll have to be clinically eligible for a particular vaccine.
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) January 21, 2022
Teens shouldn’t have to plot, scheme or fight with their parents to get a vaccine. They should simply be able to walk in & get vaccinated like anyone else. https://t.co/BzwMThJmZX
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) January 21, 2022
Republican Assemblyman James Gallagher said he doesn’t think the bill will be easily passed.
“This to me seems to be another example of Democrats wanting to remove parents from the equation,” he said. “I think there will be bipartisan support for the proposition that parents should be involved in their kids’ health care decisions, in deciding what types of medical care and drugs they should be taking.”
