Bill Tracker
Access to Health Services for Minors; Protecting Minor's Consent
Updated: April 5, 2005
House Health Committee Votes to Repeal Minors’ Consent
HF 1921, the bill to repeal Minors' Consent passed the Minnesota House
Health Policy and Finance Committee, with only four representatives voting
against it (Representatives Huntley--[DFL-Duluth]; Walke--[DFL-Minneapolis];
Thissen--[DFL-Minneapolis]; and Goodwin--[DFL--Columbia Heights]). Please
thank these legislators for their support of minors’ rights to confidential
medical care. A new research brief prepared by the Minneapolis Department
of Health and Family Support reinforced the idea that teens would stop
seeking health care but would remain sexually active if parental consent
was mandated. Studies from Illinois and Texas show increases in teen pregnancies,
with additional annual medical costs in Texas of $44 million with mandatory
parental notification. Estimates of annual costs associated with requiring
parental consent in Minnesota is $11 million, which would include more
unintentional pregnancies and higher rates of sexually transmitted infections.
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Notes on the minors' consent hearing in the Minnesota House Health Policy and Finance Committee:
There was a hearing on a bill to repeal the minors’ consent law [HF 1921] on Tuesday, March 29, in the House Health Policy and Finance Committee. The bill was introduced by Rep. Tim Wilkin [R-Eagan]. The current law guarantees minors confidential health care for emergency medical care, contraception, pregnancy related care, treatment for sexually transmitted infections, inpatient mental health services, and treatment for drugs and alcohol use. If passed, Rep. Wilkins bill would terminate minors’ consent in all cases except if the minor is involved in incest or is in an out-of-home placement facility.
Representative Barbara Goodwin spoke very passionately on the need for the existing minors’ consent law based on her experience in the mental health field. She voiced concerns about minors being denied mental health care because their parents are opposed to it or are in need of mental health treatment themselves. She also raised concerns about the rate of teen suicide in Minnesota, it is one of the highest, and how that could be affected by reduced accessibility to mental health treatment.
Representative Huntley also shared his views on the effectiveness of
the current minors’ consent law. He spoke specifically about one
of his constituents, a young woman from Duluth, who without the minors’
consent law would not be alive today. The young woman came from a good
home, with good parents but was extremely afraid of letting them down.
At 16 years of age she had unprotected sex and contracted an aggressive
form of AIDS. The young woman got the health care she needed because she
had minors’ consent, without it she would not have been tested and
therefore put her life at risk.
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Last Updated:
Friday, March 30, 2007
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