CANCELLED: Call to Action! Minors Contraceptive Device Bill HB53 protects the fundamental right of minors and parents to obtain fully informed consent – Delegate Parrott needs our support!
UPDATE: PUBLIC TESTIMONY HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO RESTRICTED ACCESS TO STATE BUILDINGS. WRITTEN TESTIMONY WILL BE READ!
CALL TO ACTION: TUESDAY 3/10/2020
DELEGATE NEIL PARROTT NEEDS OUR SUPPORT AND TESTIMONY FOR HB53 – THE MINORS CONTRACEPTIVE DEVICE BILL
HEARING: FRIDAY 3/13/2020 at 1:00 p.m.
Maryland Residents: We need attendees at the upcoming hearing this Friday 3/13/2020 at 1:00 p.m. before the Health and Government Operations Committee. We are also asking for written testimony from members who cannot attend in person.
HB53 prohibits health care providers from implanting an internal contraceptive device into the body of a minor without parental consent.
Talking points to include in your testimony:
- Parents demonstrably have the highest vested interest in their children’s welfare and are best equipped to make important decisions for their children regarding their care.
- Allowing health care providers to perform invasive medical procedures on children without parental consent undermines the fundamental relationship between parents and their children.
- Minors are not legally allowed to vote, to smoke, or consent to any other invasive medical procedure. These kids are not able to give fully informed consent, nor do they necessarily know the details of their own medical history. It’s inappropriate to place the burden of medical decision making on minors who can’t possibly consider all the consequences. If this precedent is set, what other medical decisions might the state take away from parents?
- Over 50% of children in the U.S., including Maryland, have a serious chronic health condition. One in sixty children in Maryland (2%) are on the autism spectrum. One in six children in the U.S. has a developmental disability and that number is rising. Healthcare providers administering medical procedures may not recognize these disabilities in high functioning children with special needs. How can these children give consent to invasive medical procedures without parental guidance? (If you have a special needs child, tell your story and explain why this bill would be a disaster for your family.)
- The Supreme Court ruled in 1979: “Most children, even in adolescence, simply are not able to make sound judgements concerning many decisions, including their need for medical care or treatment. Parents can and must make those judgements.”(https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/442/584.html)
Please spread the word! Members of the HGO Committee need to hear our voices!
I don’t typically comment on posts, but as a long time reader I thought I’d drop in and wish you all the best during these troubling times.
From all of us at Royal CBD, I hope you stay well
with the COVID19 pandemic progressing at an alarming rate.
Justin Hamilton
Royal CBD