Bill Description: Senate Bill 1199 would add several exemptions to the Idaho Parental Rights Act that allow minors to receive medical care without parental consent.
Rating: -4
NOTE: The Senate Amendment to Senate Bill 1199 is reflected in the bill's rating and analysis.
Does it violate the spirit or the letter of either the United States Constitution or the Idaho Constitution? Examples include restrictions on speech, public assembly, the press, privacy, private property, or firearms. Conversely, does it restore or uphold the protections guaranteed in the US Constitution or the Idaho Constitution?
Section 32-1010 through section 32-1015, Idaho Code, is the Idaho Parental Rights Act. Senate Bill 1199 would make several amendments to this act that allow minors to receive medical care without parental consent.
The first amendment would be made to Section 32-1013, Idaho Code, which deals with civil actions against the state or a political subdivision by the parent. The current law says, "When a parent's fundamental rights protected by this act are violated, a parent may assert that violation as a claim or defense in a judicial proceeding and may obtain appropriate relief against the governmental entity. If a parent prevails in a civil action against the state, or a political subdivision thereof … the parent is entitled to reasonable attorney's fees and costs."
The bill would add a new subsection that says, "All civil actions brought pursuant to sections 32-1010 through 32-1015, Idaho Code, shall be initiated within two (2) years after the harm occurred."
This is particularly concerning given the subject is parental rights and the harm done to minor children (including children who may be too young to speak or explain what was done to them.) The two-year clock does not begin when a parent discovers that a violation occurred. It starts when the violation occurs. If a parent doesn't learn about the violation until long after it occurs, they would have no recourse under this provision.
(-1)
The bill would amend Section 32-1015, Idaho Code, titled "Parental Rights in Medical Decision-Making," to change the definition of "minor child" to exclude a child "who is pregnant or has a child." This would strip away parental rights to make medical decisions for a child — no matter how young — if that child is pregnant.
Along similar lines, the bill would create a new exception to the general prohibition against furnishing or soliciting to furnish "a health care service to a minor child without obtaining the prior consent of the minor child's parent."
This exception would apply to providing health care "for the purpose of detecting or diagnosing pregnancy or providing prenatal or peripartum care."
This further limits a parent's rights to make medical decisions for a child who could be (or claims to be) pregnant.
The bill stipulates that this medical care does "not include abortion as that term is defined in section 18-8702, Idaho Code," but it is worth noting that the definition in that section does not preclude the preemptive use of abortifacients such as "Plan B."
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Another exception would be created for a health care provider "screening and treating a newborn infant for illegal drugs or substances, if a reasonable suspicion suggests their presence." While there are times when such actions may be justified, "screening" an infant without parental consent should require a warrant under the Fourth Amendment, which requires "probable cause," a higher bar than "reasonable suspicion."
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Several additional exceptions are broadened or created by the bill. An existing exception for health care that "is necessary in order to prevent death or imminent, irreparable physical injury to the minor child" would be expanded to apply to health care "necessary in order to prevent loss of life or aggravation of physiological or psychological illness or injury to the minor child."
"Death or imminent, irreparable physical injury" is a narrower concept than "aggravation of physiological or psychological illness or injury." This broader concept lacks the urgency of the current language that might justify acting without parental consent.
Another exception is created for a minor child who "is accessing the services of the Idaho crisis and suicide hotline or experiencing a mental health crisis and presents an imminent risk of serious injury to self or others."
While there may be times that imminent risk necessitates swift action, the fact that a problem is "serious" does not automatically justify overruling parents or acting without their consent.
(-1)
