On Thursday, the Alabama House of Representatives passed legislation that would require that a doctor, health clinic, or pharmacy get parental permission from the parent or guardian before giving a vaccine to anyone between the ages of 14 and 18. HB165 is sponsored by State Rep. Chip Brown.
“House Bill 165 is a parental rights bill,” Rep. Brown (R-Hollinger’s Island) said. “Currently under Alabama law any child that is 14 years or older, that is the age of medical consent in the state of 14 in Alabama You do not have to have parental consent to get any kind of medical treatment much less a vaccine. What this does is provide that you have to get parental consent for any vaccine provided in the state of Alabama.”
“This is just a way that the parent is involved, and they understand what is going on,” said Brown. “That way, if you have an adverse reaction to a vaccination, whatever that may be, lets say they got one at school — the parent would have no idea. This is a way to keep the parent informed and overseeing that child’s medical. I just believe in parental consent.”
State Rep. Mary Moore (D-Birmingham) said she wanted to make sure that teenagers who wanted to change their gender would still be able to receive hormone shots without parental permission.
“When it come to people who are trying to change their gender, we have already passed several bills that say nothing can be done after the age of 19,” said Moore. “If it’s a male or a female that they can go and get these shots so that would help them develop in to the sex that they would like to be. This was my concern when I saw this bill.”
Brown clarified this legislation was only dealing with vaccines.
“This came about out of a school, that I knew of, gave flu vaccinations to children,” said Brown. “There is nothing wrong with giving a flu shot, but the parents weren’t notified.” “They weren’t given a form. What this does is just guarantee that that has to happen so the child would not be given the shot unless the parent gave consent. This is just a parental rights bill.”
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Rep. Shane Stringer (R-Satsuma) said, “As a parent of six children, I appreciate what you are doing here. And I absolutely want to be notified on something like this involving my children. Like you said not that it is a bad thing – a flu vaccination, COVID or anything else, but I absolutely want to be notified and have input on what my child receives or not. I want to thank you for what you are doing.”
Rep. Marilyn Lands (D-Madison) spoke in opposition to this legislation.
“I have a lot of concerns about this bill,” said Lands. “Particularly I don’t understand why we are pulling vaccines out from all of the other medical and mental health services that the age of consent is 14. It seem to me that should remain under that umbrella.”
“There are 41 states that require this,” said Brown. “We are chasing other states. As a parent, I want to know if my child got any kind of vaccine. This is not an antivaccine bill. To me it was insulting in 1975 that the Legislature passed a piece of legislation that does not require that I as a parent be notified.”
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“I understand your concerns, I respect your concerns,” said Lands. “Children do deserve the right to consent on their own. I am particularly concerned about the HPV vaccine. The reality is there are situations where a child wants to get that vaccine and their father is the rapist. here are many kinds of instances where I think children should be able to consent for themselves.”
“I think we are doing too much government overreach,” Lands continued. “I think the families where you have a child wants a vaccine and doesn’t want their parents involved in that decision are doing so for very legitimate reason and I want to protect those children. The unintended consequences of this could be devastating for so many of our children. I urge you to vote no on this government overreach.”
The House did adopt a committee substitute version of the bill.
“What the sub did is it made provisions for children who are unemancipated minors – that may live with grandparents or not in a traditional home setting – maybe living out on their own,” Brown explained. “It made provisions for those children.”
Rep. Brett Easterbrook (R-Chatom) said, “I want to thank you for bringing this bill. I don’t think its right. It is government overreach for somebody to give a vaccine to a child without parental consent. That is government overreach. It has nothing to do with rapists. I don’t think there is a vaccine for rape. They are still required to report rape and abuse. The idea that the government should decide for the parent which vaccines a child should or should not take is what I think of as government overreach.”
House bill 165 passed the House on a bipartisan vote of 81 to 17. It now goes to the Alabama Senate for their consideration. Tuesday will be Day 25 of the 2024 state legislative session.
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