Story Highlights
- Informed consent to medical treatment is a foundation of ethical medical practice today, giving adult patients and parents of minor children the right to make voluntary decisions based on full disclosure of the benefits and risks involved in a proposed medical intervention.
- Historically, medical intervention for children (usually defined as those under age 18) has been the province of their responsible parent or legal guardian.
- A new bill has been introduced in New York proposing that children as young as 14 years old be given the legal right to make vaccination decisions for themselves without parental consent.
Since the 1950s, the right to exercise informed consent to medical treatment has been a broadly supported legal right in the fields of medicine, nursing, ethics and law.1 “The doctrine is a simple one—an adult has the right to give informed consent for treatment after receiving all pertinent information about benefits and risks needed to make an informed choice.”2
Under the law, parents or legal guardians of minor children—most commonly defined as those under age 18—are given the legal authority to exercise informed consent to medical risk taking on behalf of a child. As explained on the website FindLaw, “Because children are still developing, both physically and mentally, they aren’t considered capable of handling the same rights as mature adults. For instance, children don’t have the right to vote, own property, consent to medical treatment [such as vaccination], sue or be sued, or enter into certain types of contracts.”3
Traditionally, exclusions to the rule were put in place to allow treatment of minors without parental consent in specific instances, as in the case of a seriously injured minor seen in an emergency room when a parent or legal guardian is not available and a delay would put the minor child at risk. While states have broad authority to interpret regulations, general U.S. regulatory guidelines include exceptions for obtaining parental informed consent for minor children for the following:4
- Married minor;
- Pregnant minor (for herself and the fetus; after the birth, the young mother retains the right to consent to treatment for the infant but only retains authority for her own medical consent if she falls into one of the other categories for exception);
- Minors over a specific age, by state, for sexually transmitted disease or HIV;
- Testing, AIDS treatment and substance use disorder treatment;
- Emancipated and mature minors, as defined by state law;
- Minors seeking birth control services, as provided by state law;
- Minors seeking outpatient mental health services or inpatient voluntary admissions to a psychiatric facility. Some states call for notification of the parent or legal guardian, but do not require consent;
- Any emergent medical condition where delaying treatment for the purposes of obtaining consent would result in injury or death of the minor.
Some states have expanded the rights of children to make informed consent for medical treatment if certain other conditions apply as well. According to the non-profit organization SchoolHouse Connection, informed consent by a minor may be applied if the child “is living separate and apart from his parent or legal guardian, and is managing his own financial affairs.”5
In some cases, the only requirement is that a physician deems the child mature enough to understand the benefits and risks of a proposed medical treatment. SchoolHouse Connection notes that Idaho’s code, for example, states that, “Any person of ordinary intelligence and awareness sufficient for him or her generally to comprehend the need for, the nature of and the significant risks ordinarily inherent in, any contemplated hospital, medical, dental or surgical care, treatment or procedure is competent to consent thereto on his or her own behalf.”6
According to a study published in the journal Pediatrics in 2013, this “mature minor doctrine,” can present a legal and ethical dilemma to the treating physician. Somewhat of a grey area, it outlines certain other “status-based and condition-based exceptions” aside from more long-standing minor rights (with federal guidelines) in fields such as abortion, access to contraceptives, and treatments for mental illness, sexually transmitted diseases or substance abuse.7
Informed Consent and Vaccination
As it applies to vaccination, several states already use the “mature minor” doctrine to give minors the right to make vaccines decisions and other decisions about medical interventions without parental knowledge or consent.
So far, the rights of minors to seek and receive vaccination varies from state to state.8 For example, the State of Washington has been using the recent outbreak of measles to invoke the mature minor policy. Similar laws are in place in Alaska, Arkansas, Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.9
Expanding that slippery slope, a new bill has been introduced in New York that would permit minors 14 years of age and older to be vaccinated without parental permission.10 Using the 215 cases of measles reported in New York this past winter as a justifiable cause, State Senator Liz Krueger and Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy have introduced bill S. 4244/A. 6564 proposing to allow children older than age 13 to ask for and receive any of the vaccines in the Public Health Law, which would include poliomyelitis, mumps, measles, diphtheria, rubella, varicella, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), pertussis, tetanus, pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease and hepatitis B.11
The bill’s supporters also argue that the bill would provide greater flexibility for minor children in high school or college, since so many schools do not admit unvaccinated students.
Risks Associated With Measles Vaccination
While acknowledging that measles is very rarely fatal, the bill rationalizes stripping parents of the right to make vaccination decisions for their minor children by citing an increased risk of complications from vaccines and infectious diseases for those with leukemia or otherwise compromised immune function. What is not discussed is the very real risk of a serious adverse reaction to the vaccine.
Measles vaccination is not available as a single vaccine but is only given in combination with mumps and rubella (MMR) and sometimes with varicella (chickenpox) as well (MMR-V). Although public health officials consider serious MMR vaccine reactions to be “rare,” reactions reported for both combination vaccines have included brain damage, coma, chronic seizure disorder, lowered level of consciousness and loss of hearing.12 As reported by Merck in the measles, mumps and rubella virus vaccine, live (MMRII) product insert, post-marketing surveillance data disclosed the potential for other serious complications13 14:
- brain inflammation (encephalitis) and encephalopathy (chronic brain dysfunction);
- panniculitis (inflammation of the fat layer under the skin);
- atypical measles;
- syncope (sudden loss of consciousness, fainting);
- vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels);
- pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas);
- diabetes mellitus;
- thrombocytopenia purpura (blood disorder);
- Henoch-Schönlein purpura (inflammation and bleeding in the small blood vessels);
- acute hemorrhagic edema of infancy (rare vasculitis of the skin’s small vessels occurring in infants);
- leukocytosis (high white blood cell count);
- anaphylaxis (shock);
- bronchial spasms;
- pneumonia;
- pneumonitis(inflammation of the lung tissues);
- arthritis and arthralgia (joint pain);
- myalgia (muscle pain);
- polyneuritis (inflammation of several nerves simultaneously);
- measles inclusion body encephalitis (disease affecting the brain of immunocompromised persons);
- subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (fatal progressive brain disorder caused by exposure to the measles virus);
- Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS)(disease where the body’s immune system attacks the nerves);
- acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) (brief widespread inflammation of the nerve’s protective covering);
- transverse myelitis (inflammation of the spinal cord);
- aseptic meningitis;
- erythema multiforme (skin disorder from an allergic reaction or infection);
- urticarial rash (hives, itching from an allergic reaction);
- measles-like rash;
- Stevens-Johnson syndrome (severe reaction causing the skin and mucous membranes to blister, die, and shed);
- nerve deafness (hearing loss from damage to the inner ear);
- otitis media (ear infection);
- retinitis (inflammation of the retina of the eye);
- optic neuritis (inflammation of the optic nerve);
- conjunctivitis (pink eye);
- ocular palsies (dysfunction of the ocular nerve);
- epididymitis (inflammation of the epididymis);
- paresthesia (burning or prickling of the skin);
- death.
Right now, proponents of the New York bill to allow minors to get vaccinated without parental knowledge or consent are focusing on teenage children. What is not known is whether this precedent will set the stage for lowering the age of consent even further in the future.
References:
1 Murray PM. The History Of Informed Consent. Iowa Orthop J 1990
2 Brent, MJ. Informed Consent for Minors Is a Big Issue in the ED. Nurse.com Sept. 6, 2018.
3 What are the Legal Rights of Children? FindLaw.com 2019.
4 See Footnote 2.
5 State Laws on Minor Consent for Routine Medical Care. SchoolHouseConnection.org Aug. 14, 2018.
6 Ibid.
7 Coleman DL, Rosoff PM. The Legal Authority of Mature Minors to Consent to General Medical Treatment. Pediatrics April 2003; 131(4).
8 Ibid.
9 Brister M. In Which States Can Minors Get Vaccinated Without Parental Consent? Quora: Medicine and Healthcare Feb. 12, 2019.
10 National Vaccine Information Center. Welcome to the NVIC Advocacy Portal. NVICAdvocacy.org.
11 Gormley J. With Measles Cases Surging, Bill Allows Minors To Get Vaccinated Without Parental Consent. The Legislative Gazette Mar. 19, 2019.
12 NVIC. Can Measles Vaccine Cause Injury & Death? NVIC.org.
13 Food and Drug Administration. Measles, Mumps and Rubella Virus Vaccine, Live FDA.gov Feb. 2, 2018.
14 See Footnote 12.
53 Responses
If states are going to strip parental rights with regard to vaccination, then vaccine manufacturers should be held liable for any harm caused by vaccines. Why not just ship us all off to a concentration camp? What does “freedom” mean any more? If children and adults are being forcibly vaccinated, we no longer live in a “free” county.
“Country”.
“Right now, proponents of the New York bill to allow minors to get vaccinated without parental knowledge or consent are focusing on teenage children. What is not known is whether this precedent will set the stage for lowering the age of consent even further in the future.”
So, are those pushing for mandatory vaccination or allowing minors to choose to be vaccinated without knowledge or permission from a parent/guardian going to provide those minors with warnings about the dangers of vaccination, like the report from Merck specified above? Are they going to inform these minors that while carrying considerable risk, vaccines often/frequently do not even work? Just wondering…
“Show me the insert” “That’s the fact sheet, not the insert. Show me the insert!”
Things every parent should learn to teach their children, and learn themselves.
Honestly, have you ever tried to get the actual insert rather than the fact sheet from your doctor?
Double dare you to try it.
Let’s just add the right to purchase cigarettes and alcohol beverages while we are at it. So now 13 and 14 year old are able to make decisions on receiving vaccines. This is all upside down. 18 year old are not allowed to drink or smoke but they can join the military and shoot to kill. Yeah this all makes sense!
To Whom It May Concern,
The thought of giving a child, of 14 years old, the freedom to say they want to be vaccinated, is completely irresponsible on the part of any governing body that would allow this. Doctors can’t even agree on whether vaccines are even safe enough to be given to children in the first place, and now they want to give children of 14 years old the power to say, yes, I want to be given the vaccines. We must be living in fantasy land, and children must be making the laws now, this is beyond RIDICULOUS !!!!!!!!!!!
Vote with your wallet. Who funds the people proposing and implementing these things?
Learn to be a contentious consumer. There is no easy informational source for this, you simply have to do your homework. Who’s paying them?
I feel like children are suffering unnecessary illness all because big Pharma wants to make lots of money. In the long run we are all paying more. When a child is damaged from vaccinations either minor or greatly, it costs money. How much money is lost because of special education, parental underemployment or non employment due to caring for the ill child? How many potential wonderful employees have we lost because of subtle brain damage? How many young adults are drawing Medicaid and social security disability because of vaccine injuries? Vaccine injures are real and they cause a chain of unfortunate events in families lives. Some people don’t even know they have been injured because they would rather believe that this all for the greater good. Forcing vaccinations should not be allowed. No other medical procedures is forced why should vaccinations be any different.
Follow the money. You’re missing the big picture. It’s for profit. All pursuing arguments are formed around that point, and not before.
It is ironic that those advancing a bill permitting minors to consent to vaccinations, on the grounds that they have the intelligence to weigh the risks and benefits of vaccination themselves demonstrate no understanding of the risks and benefits of vaccination. If the criteria applied to minors enabling them to consent to vaccination were applied to the creators of the bill, none would qualify for vaccination. What isn’t addressed in this or other articles (for obvious reasons) is the silent and insidious force of big pharma, which is still subtly but deliberately controlling all the talking points in the vaccination debate.
New York State or New York City, please clarify?
Can we challenge this bill in court if it passes? It sounds unconstitutional. If we could defeat it in court on constitutional grounds, it could set a favorable precedent for our freedoms.
There is that familiar rhetoric again.
Asking the government for permission to be free…
You’re missing the point.
People must stand up and speak out for this. the next thing to happen is adults will be treated the same way–mandated to get vaccines, which are not necessary. Stand up now!!
They already are when seeking employment.
Good Loryn, you’re on the right track.
We hope and pray you’re standing up for the other constitutional rights which came before this.
The 1st, the 2nd, and the 4th, being the most notable ones of the day.
It’s just rhetoric and hot air for people to stand against vaccines while simultaneously not eating organic gmo free, not standing up for the 2nd rights, and allowing censorship to take hold real time in front of their very eyes. I find it ironic that many people stand up for one right while simultaneously standing against another. Either this is God’s country or it is not. Build the wall, demand enforcement of RICO on a broad scale, refuse to be spied upon, and refuse the mad sciences of the day which certainly are not limited to just medicine. Our liberties are being diluted at a breathtaking pace.
Follow the money: Big Pharma has bought off hirelings at this point in counties…probably intending to get LL counties in EVERY state to force vaccinations. (Yeah, I am a Pharmacist, I do not vaccinate.)
But you took the vaccinations to get through school to be in that position in the first place…
You’ll need to do something more than blog anonymously on the board to make a difference at this point.
A child who has had several bouts of pneumonia and asthma may not be a good candidate for this common vaccine?
Law says informed consent, not Hitler’s laws–and what about HIPPA
Sure, you can always fall back on the laws of man.
I answer to a higher power. The constitution is not a living document.
Everything that comes after the constitution is just interpretation and is arguably, not true law.
Reconsidering Ron Paul yet? You should be.
Let me guess, the source for the conditions included in the product insert was VAERS. VAERS, as those interested should know, is simply a database of whatever people report. I am sure the author knows this, but they don’t want their readers to know this
I have no problem with exemptions for medical reasons or even for religious reasons. Of course, the religion has to be more than, this is what I believe. I don’t know of any religion that opposes vaccination as opposed to members of those religions claiming that their religion opposes vaccination. That is even true for vaccines that originated in aborted fetal tissue many decades ago. The RCs decided that as long as there is no better vaccine, members can properly take this vaccine.
You don’t have any religion The “RC”s , of which I am one have been infiltrated by masons for years now. I have been arguing on the blogs that the fraud in the Vatican should be hauled out by the short hairs for not being CATHOLIC. He is a heretic and a sodomite. It is no wonder he approves of vaccines with aborted fetal tissue, he’s into human trafficking too. These vaccines have more than just aborted fetal tissue in them. They have hundreds of unknown proprietary ingredients, which the Italian government discovered when they allowed an objective research team to examine the MMR. Proof, Proof not bluster is required. Prove that what the label says on the vaccine, is what is inside. Prove that those ingredients are safe and effective. That’s a high hurdle Sheldon, but next time you pray to your god Lucifer, you ask him for help in deceiving the rest of us.
Right on the money
Go look up the Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare grant from the CDC and their three year study utilizing an active reporting system as an improvement from VAERS. Adverse events were 1.3 per clinician per month. CDC got the results back and stopped answering calls and emails from Harvard lol…
5 upvotes from me.
Regardless of your opinion on vaccines, forced vaccination, i.e. removing religious exemption is against The First Amendment! If you live in the US, please download and watch the video here, print and distribute the flyer to every pastor and church in your area, and share the link far and wide! http://www.firstfreedoms.org/
NEVER SURRENDER YOUR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM TO ANYONE FOR ANY REASON!!!
Yes, I like this comment. Separation from church and state has been interpreted in our modern society to mean something exactly the opposite of what it was intended as written. More people should look into this.
It’s supposed to mean you can proclaim your faith anywhere, even in the halls of government and nobody can silence you.
My body is my temple.
As the mother of a vaccine damaged child I will fight to the death for the freedom of choice in these matters. Vaccines are untested and unsafe for too many children and infants. The vaccine policies in this country are creating generations of kids without futures and no ability to be contributing members of society. Shame on the pharma Industry and greedy uneducated physicians who took oaths to do NO harm.
Mental note; Never ever ever go to New York for any reason what so ever.
People living there should flee, if they can find an open spot on the exit buses.
There is already a substantial line.
It takes one to know one and dang, people just don’t understand until it happens to them.
Trust is not given, it is earned. Big pharma broke the trust a long time ago when they chose to usurp representative governance by using money as speech and drowning out our voices.
SEE:
-www.VAERS.gov (VACCINE Adverse Event Reporting System);
-www.VICP.gov (VACCINE Injury Compensation Program);
-SIRVA Diagnosis: Shoulder Injury Resulting from VACCINE Administration;
-OSM: Office of Special Masters for Plaintiffs’ Attorneys specializing in VACCINE Injuries.
A child at the age of 13 does not have the knowledge or understanding of the risks associated with these vaccines. I think this is absolutely ridiculous to let them make their own decision on this.
What will they do next, order that 13 year olds can consent to sex with pharmacuetical execs? When you’re losing the war for the hearts and minds of the parents, simply abduct the kids.
When my children were born, I did a lot of research. It was actually a pro-vaccine book my doctor gave me that convinced me not to vaccinate. The vaccines had a LOT of side effects and were not very effective against the disease. That made the agonizing decision very easy. My children are almost grown and are much healthier than their vaccinated peers. I often wonder if there is a correlation.
Authors of the bill acknowledge that measles is very rarely fatal. Wasn’t the last and single death in 2003 in this country? So fear is being used to get parents to vaccinate, and when it isn’t working well, they’re now going to pass a bill so that parents can be by passed and teenagers can be manipulated into getting vaccinated. Surely if any one (teenagers or adults) were given all of these possible side effects, lined up against the supposed “benefit” of not getting an illness that rarely kills, would any one choose vaccination? The powers pushing vaccination talk about individuals being given the right to make an “informed consent” Prior to vaccination, is any one receiving all of this information to make that “informed” consent”? Is it happening in doctor’s offices, schools, drugstores, etc? I’m in my 70’s and don’t ever remember hearing about these possible side effects before having my children vaccinated. The doctor or nurse just came in and administered the shot. It was a given. You were to assume it was safe or the medical personnel wouldn’t be doing it. That was before autism became a part of common vocabulary in the world. Thanks for keeping us informed.
New York State should look at the numbers in their lawsuit against a host of pharmaceutical companies. https://int.nyt.com/data/documenthelper/722-new-york-vs-purdue-pharma-et/c9a1e4f5a0a00bd8507c/optimized/full.pdf#page=1
They are saying that 9 New Yorkers die each day as a result of opioid-related overdoses. Why on earth should we trust pharma on vaccines? Maybe the justice dept should get together with the legislators and educate them.
Once they do this these teens will be pressured into doing this and not told that they can say no. Also how would a teen remember if they have already had a shot or not? I guess papers please will also include carrying you medical records and exemptions around with you. My grandson has been instructed that if they ever try to give vaccines or dental care [read the horror stories about Aspen dental that preys on Medicaid kids in schools] at his school to refuse and if they try to force him to run and find a place to call me. They will be so sorry…..
Since the human brain is not fully developed until the ages of 20-22, how would a 13 year old be mature enough to make a decision such as this?
#novaccines Absolutley not!! #Freedom #Liberty #IDoNotConsent
I believe it is time to stand up to these demonic, yes, demonic people who are doing the dark one’s bidding. We have to literally just say no. They think that they can stronghold everyone. I almost think people should go up to their office, and escort them out. There has to be something we can do for treason.
When I was a kid, if I would have been given a choice to take a vaccine, I would have said, “Heck no!” What kid actually likes getting shots?? Not me, brother!
Also, their version of “informed consent” is full of blatant lies anyway! Saying the reactions are “rare” is the first one. Plus, just how “safe” are these vaccines if you can’t sue the manufacturer, just in case you’re one of the “rare” ones who dies from them?
I have been told by more than one school psychologist that children begin to understand “abstract thought” or ideas at around 12 years. It’s a process that takes years to finish. And I wonder how many grown adults can process critical ideas very well themselves much less children! I think these bills and legislators that are proposing them, are pushing this for Pharmaceutical payments they will incur in exchange for supporting this vaccine agenda.It’s an evil agenda and money is their spoken word!
The only answer to problems like this is to get money out of politics. As long as it takes money to get elected, big money is going to rule the legislature. Big money does NOT CARE about the health of ANYBODY.
When I was a teenager (over 15 years ago) my doctor told me about the gardicil shots. plus i saw tons of tv commercials about it. so without any discussion with my parents i got two of the three shots. then i told my mom about it and she was like why are you doing that?! i felt so upset! i was just trusting the adult doctor. i really came to have a major distrust of authority and medical community from cumulative experiences of being misled.
It’s realistic to expect fines, asset confiscation, children in state custody, and jail times for parents and for non-compliant adults.
Good thing we still have some constitutional rights left.
If you’re reading this message you are the resistance.
A 14 year old child does not have the life experiences to make a medical decision -period. Are these people proposing a child should be given the right to consent to plastic surgery for breast implants or boys chest implants? Can children consent to surgery? A child cannot be treated in an emergency room without parental consent unless death is imminent. Vaccination is a medical procedure.
Also, if the child has a vaccine reaction who is going to pay the medical profession to care for the child? What if the child develops a neurological disorder, AFM if they get a flu shot? Who is going to carry the financial burden of long term care? It should be made clear that State Senator Liz Krueger and Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy are not acting in the best interest of their constitutes and will be held accountable if this thing passes and a child is harmed.
Informed Consent is the Standard of Care. This means that your pediatrician must inform parents of the risk of any vaccine to your child. Parents assume, due to what is called
“The public trust” that the information provided by their doctors is true, adaquate and evidence based, when this is not the case. The research on the safety, and efficacy of the vaccines they recommend is scant, and often paid for by the manufacturer.
There is a revolving door of CDC directors and vaccine manufacturer CEO’s. Consumer Beware. Informed consent is often a joke. NOT FUNNY!
Read up on the cases involved in Vaccine Court. The fact that the financial burden for vaccine “damage” is being picked up by US taxpayers instead of those responsible for pushing poorly researched dangerous products on children and babies is very evil, but it says it all about our so-called “healthcare system”…. riddled with fraud, corruption, and greed.
Time to fight back. This is the last straw.
Here little girl, little boy, I have a sweet candy and bag of popcorn for you. Step closer… What is 1+1? “2?” Yes that’s right. I see you’re capable of making your own decisions. Because the state says we don’t have to inform your parents, let’s keep this a secret and I promise you won’t get into trouble. Come with me into my nice van with no windows.
These people seeking to usurp parental rights are outright sadists and should not be trusted with children in the first place. These articles belong in a Steven King horror novel and have no place as actual truthful news story. Sadly, the abusers of children are apparently in control these days. NO.
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Do you people realize that being more afraid of the vaccine than of the disease is a privilege that can only exist in societies with the luxury of being vaccinated? People in other countries are desperate to get access to vaccinations! But here, because most parents now have never witnessed the ravages of polio, we have no idea what to fear. Those of you who choose NOT to vaccinate can do so freely because most of us are smart enough to vaccinate our children, which, by the way, also protects YOUR children! It makes me angry that your lack of understanding of basic science, and refusal to check sources and look at REAL research actually not only endangers your children, but those of others as well.
You are so lucky to live in a place and time where you have never experienced these terrible diseases. That place and time exists BECAUSE OF VACCINES!
For God’s sake, at least let your teenage children make an intelligent decision for themselves! They are smarter than you are!