SB 866: Minor Consent to Vaccination
Legislative Action Alert – May 5th, 2022
Authors: Senator Wiener and Senator Pan
Position: Strongly OPPOSE
Current Status
SB 866 is set to be heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee today, May 5th, 2022.
Quickly pass this alert on to others who might respond and then take the suggested actions below!
Summary of Concern
SB 866 authorizes a minor 12 years of age or older to consent to vaccines that meet FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) approval and meets the recommendations of the ACIP (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices), without the consent of the parent or guardian. The bill also authorizes a vaccine provider, as defined, to administer a vaccine pursuant to the bill.
SB 866 removes parents as the protector and provider for their children and puts the state in their place instead. Parental choice about which vaccines their minor children will receive is entirely thrown out by this bill. This is an incremental step toward giving minor children autonomy outside of their parents’ protection and making the government the “parent” by overriding parents’ beliefs and choices regarding their children’s medical treatments. This bill erodes a parent’s authority and responsibility over their children’s health and gives the final choice to the child and the state government.
