Bill Allowing 12-Year-Olds To Get Vaxxed Without Parental Consent Clears First Hurdle

A bill that would allow teens to get vaccinated without their parent’s consent cleared its first hurdle Thursday after the California state Senate passed the legislation.

The legislation would allow children 12 and older to receive any vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration regardless of if they have their parents’ consent.

“Our legislation to allow teens to protect their own health by getting vaccinated (SB 866) just passed the Senate. Thank you, colleagues,” Democratic California State Sen. Scott Weiner, who authored the bill, tweeted.

Our legislation to allow teens to protect their own health by getting vaccinated (SB 866) just passed the Senate. Thank you, colleagues.

— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) May 12, 2022

“Young people 12 and over are already allowed to make critical decisions about their bodies without parental consent, including getting the human papilloma virus (HPV) and hepatitis B vaccines, accessing reproductive health care and mental health care, and other health services,” Weiner said in a statement, NBC Bay Area. (RELATED: FDA Drastically Reduces Use Of Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Over Blood Clots)

The legislation now heads to the State Assembly where it will be heard in committee hearings, according to the report.

The bill has faced pushback from parents and others, with one woman saying during a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing the bill was “demonic,” according to CalMatters. Several opponents reportedly said the opposed the legislation because their kids had been “vaccine-injured.”

One woman, Maribel Duarte, claimed her son is experiencing side-effects of the vaccine after he was vaccinated by his school without her consent, according to the report.

“I feel that in that age, they still don’t have that mentality or rightness to choose if they’re OK or healthy enough to make that decision,” Duarte reportedly said.

Similar legislation was passed in Washington, D.C., in 2020 that allowed children 11 and older to get vaccinated without their parents’ consent if a doctor determined the child was capable of making an informed decision. A federal judge later barred the district from enforcing the law saying the legislation violated religious liberty.

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