Democrats Push to Lower Age of Consent to 12 for Medical, Mental Treatment

Parental rights advocates celebrate the withdrawal of a California bill that would have allowed children 15 years old or up to get vaccines without parental consent in Sacramento on Aug. 31, 2022. Courtesy of Protection of the Educational Rights of Kids

Minors as young as 12 can in various parts of the United States now be treated for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), undergo mental health counseling, get a vaccine, and even have an abortion without their parents knowing.

Many states lowered the age of medical consent during the pandemic, just before the emergence of the child transgender craze now topping headline news across the nation.

Connecticut, one of five states that eliminated religious exemptions from vaccines, passed a law last year to permit minors of any age to have an abortion without telling their parents.

Maryland has allowed 12-year-olds to attend therapy sessions without any notice to their parents since 2021.

Similar legislation has recently been introduced in at least two other states.

The District of Columbia Council in 2020 introduced the first law that allows 11-year-olds to get vaccinated in the country’s capital without parental approval. The law, however, is now tied up in a lawsuit filed by parents who won a temporary block by a federal judge.

A Vermont Democrat now wants to have her state join four others where lawmakers already passed specific legislation allowing children as young as 12 to be treated for STDs.

Sen. Ginny Lyons, sponsor of S.151, did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Epoch Times about the bill.

The bill, which was introduced on April 27,  may not seem as much of a surprise in a state considered as liberal as Vermont—one of the first states in the nation to legalize gay marriage.

However, public outrage has shown that the state is not completely blue.

Backlash

In the comment section of Truth North Reports—which bills itself as “The Other Side of Vermont News”—several Republicans expressed outrage over Lyons’ bill.

“This bill is the ‘Bud Light’ moment for Vermont,” wrote one conservative, making reference to the fallout Anheuser-Busch has experienced after using transgender Dylan Mulvaney to promote its popular beer beer.

Shannon McLamb, who also posted about the bill, told The Epoch Times that lawmakers should be more concerned with why a 12-year-old would have a sexually transmitted disease in the first place.

McLamb, who has been a longtime conservative activist in Vermont, said he believes S.151 is part of a bigger agenda to push pedophilia, “maybe even [incest].”

“So when Uncle Bob molests Jane or Dick they can get it treated and no one is the wiser,” McLamb wrote.

Organizations like Planned Parenthood, along with the Department of Health and Human Services advocate for lowering the age of medical consent to protect what they call a “teenager’s confidentiality.”

“Confidentiality means privacy,” Planned Parenthood states under its advisory section entitled Teenage Confidentiality.

“It means that when you, as a young person, talk with your doctor or nurse about certain issues like sex [STI testing and treatment for patients 12 years and older], drugs, and feelings, he or she will not tell your parents or guardians what you talk about unless you give your permission.”

More States

Delaware, California, Delaware, and Illinois already have similar laws to the one proposed in Vermont.

According to a Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website tracking laws that allow minors to receive healthcare without parental approval, there are an additional five states that allow those as young as 14 to receive medical care specific to sexually transmitted diseases without the approval or knowledge of a parent, adult, or legal guardian.

They are Washington, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Idaho, and Hawaii.

Only two of the states allow 12- to 14-year-olds to receive other medical treatment without parent consent. If it’s not sexually transmitted, the minors need parental approval.

HPV

In addition to health care services, McLamb sees the inclusion of the HPV vaccine in school-required immunization as more evidence of a drive to sexualize children.

“If people can’t see what the end goal here [is], they are not paying attention,” he said.

According to the Immunization Action Coalition, four states currently require the vaccine, which is promoted as a prevention of a sexually transmitted infection called human papillomavirus.

Rhode Island, Hawaii, and Virginia, require it in 7th grade while Washington requires it in 6th grade. The CDC recommends the vaccine for children as young as 9 and advises that by age 12, a child should have received two doses of the vaccine.

Lowering the age for parental disclosure on mental health therapy is also on the rise.

On April 27, Vermont’s STD bill was advanced to the state Senate Health and Welfare Committee. On the same day New Jersey Democrats introduced a bill that would lower the age that children can go to therapy without the knowledge of their parents to from 16 to 12.

Assemblyman Raj Mukerji (D-Hudson) called it a lifesaving bill for kids who might be contemplating suicide while Assemblyman Robert Auth (R-Bergen) opposed cutting parents out of their children’s lives when they are needed the most.

“How much of our children’s lives do we hand over to third parties?” he asked at last week’s hearing on the bill.