Bill Removing Autonomy For Teens To Make Own Health Care Decisions Clears Senate

Currently, West Virginia teens can get things like birth control or STD testing without their parents consent or knowledge. Senate Bill 719 would change that.

Sen. Laura Chapman is the lead sponsor on the bill. 

“The bill allows a 16-year-old to consent to general medical services for himself or herself, as long as the health care provider provides actual notice of the minor parent, except in certain circumstances,” Chapman said. 

Those certain circumstances are instances of abuse or neglect, or if the minor is married or emancipated from parents. 

The bill does away with the term “mature minor,” which is currently used in code. The term essentially refers to a teen who a doctor or nurse practitioner has deemed to be mature enough to make certain medical decisions on their own. 

Senator Joey Garcia, D-Marion, said the bill could have a cooling effect on teens who are seeking health care for things like sexually transmitted diseases or substance abuse. 

“There are situations in which a minor may not feel comfortable telling their parents about certain things that are very difficult, difficult conversations to have,” Garcia said.

He said those may be conversations about birth control, STD testing, or substance abuse treatment. 

“You’re going to have a situation where an adolescent is not going to get that treatment because they understand their parents are gonna be notified about that, and they don’t want to have that conversation,” Garcia said. 

He said that the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists all oppose this law. 

Sen. Tom Takubo, a Republican from Kanawha County, worries about a provision in the bill that would take away some teens’ current right to have a do-not-resuscitate order without parental consent. 

He said in cases where a minor is terminally ill, or otherwise has a condition that greatly reduces their quality of life, they should be able to choose. 

“They say, ‘Hey, listen, if something ever catastrophically happens to me naturally, that my body fails and my heart stops and God takes me, I don’t want CPR done on me.’ We just took that ability away,” Takubo said. 

The bill passed 27-6. Both Democrats, and five republicans voted no. The bill now heads to the House of Delegates for consideration.