Latest news with #HB1505
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Teens need parental consent to get STI treatment, but not to work full-time, House votes
High school and college students participating in Planned Parenthood programs testified against a bill in the Senate on March 25, 2025, that would require parental consent to access birth control and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. (Photo by Jackie Llanos/Florida Phoenix) Although older teens could work unlimited hours, they wouldn't be able to get treatment for sexually transmitted infections on their own under two bills the Florida House approved Friday. House lawmakers voted on party lines both to require parental consent for health care providers to treat minors with STIs and to let 16- and 17-year-olds work full-time hours during the school year without their parents' permission. The passage of the bills rolling back child labor laws (HB 1225) and exceptions entitling minors to privacy with doctors (HB 1505) prompted ardent debate from Democrats, who raised concerns about children who may be too afraid to report abuse. Orlando Democratic Rep. Rita Harris put forward a failed amendment allowing minors 16 and older to get treatment for STIs without parental consent. 'There is definitely space for people who are 16 or 17 to be able to make decisions on their own, as it was stated,' Harris said. 'They drive a car. We trust them to get behind a car, which could literally kill people and kill themselves.' It didn't come up during Friday's debate, but the legislation co-sponsored by Lake Mary Republican Rep. Rachel Plakon also would remove a 'loophole' in Florida law that allows physicians to prescribe birth control to a minor if their medical opinion is that the patient would suffer health hazards otherwise. Plakon said she wants parents to have greater involvement over their kids' health decisions than institutions. 'The overwhelming majority of parents want to do the right thing for their children, and we believe that the passing of this legislation is a restoration of parental rights with health care and will foster better communication between parents and their children,' Plakon said. Parental consent doesn't apply to minors whose parents are being investigated for a crime against them. The Senate version, SB 1288, has not been scheduled for a floor vote. Additionally, the change could come at a time when Florida teens are contracting chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis at the highest rates since 2008, according to 2023 data from the Florida Department of Health. Those infections can be cured with antibiotics, but worsen if left untreated. Seventeen-year-old Adriana Rodas views the bills in juxtaposition to each other. The South Floridian traveled to Tallahassee in March to testify against HB 1505. 'I think saying that [teens] are only old enough to do one thing, and that one thing also happens to benefit the people who want to make this legislation pass, is hypocritical because it just shows to me that they always say they care about children, but then when it comes to having them work longer hours, which deteriorates mental health and can really slow them down academically, they don't care,' Rodas said in an interview with Florida Phoenix. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Lawmakers then approved the bill loosening working laws for young Floridians, which Democrats decried as a chance for employers to exploit minors, by a vote of 78-30. Specifically, the bill would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work shifts longer than eight hours on the day before a school day and more than 30 hours in a week while school is in session. The bill loosens restrictions for 14- and 15-year-old home-school students, online students, and those who've graduated. Employers wouldn't have to give 30-minute breaks to older teens under the bill. 'In Florida, we're requiring parental rights for many other things, like field trips, school presentations, and even, previously, this bill that just moved, kids would need parental rights for STI treatment,' said Jacksonville Democratic Rep. Angie Nixon. Florida now allows waivers signed by parents. guardians, or school superintendents for young people to work beyond restrictions spelled out in state law, but Republicans argued that the ultimate permission is granted by parents, and a waiver should not be required. Rep. Monique Miller, a Republican representing Palm Bay and the bill's sponsor, said that, because of 'a resurgence in apprenticeships and such, we want to reduce barriers to teenagers learning their trade.' Gov. Ron DeSantis' office drafted the legislation, Orlando Weekly reported. The bill makes Florida's minor labor laws stricter in one aspect. It was amended to prohibit students from working past 10 p.m. on school nights. Florida law now allows students to work until 11:00 p.m. The Senate version of the bill, SB 918, has not moved since its first committee stop, when it passed on a 5-4 vote. That bill, and the original version of the House bill, would've let minors work overnight on school nights. During its last committee stop, the bill was amended to speed up a preemption established last year, when lawmakers voted to eliminate local living-wage laws, specifically for government contractors, effective in 2026. The 2025 bill revises that preemption to take effect this year. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Legislature nears passage of bill requiring parental consent for STD treatment, birth control
The Republican-controlled Legislature is on track to remove a statutory exception allowing physicians to prescribe minors birth control without their parents' approval. (Photo by Getty Images) A House panel advanced a bill Tuesday that would prohibit health care providers from treating minors with sexually transmitted infections and diseases without their parents' consent. The proposals, HB 1505 and SB 1288, have cleared all of their committee stops in both chambers following the favorable House committee vote Tuesday, putting them closer to passage. Under the banner of parental rights, lawmakers are pushing for the removal of exceptions entitling minors in Florida to privacy with doctors and medical providers to receive treatment for STIs, substance abuse, and mental health problems. In some cases, doctors can prescribe birth control to minors without their parents' written consent. 'We believe that children and parents are going to be more engaged with each other. We've allowed the default in certain circumstances in this state to be institutions making a decision other than the family, where it should be,' said Lake Mary Republican Rep. Rachel Plakon, one of the sponsors of the bill, before the House Education and Employment Committee. Reproductive rights advocates, Democrats, and some Republicans oppose the bill, saying it could restrict access to treatment for minors who can't trust their parents. The change could come at a time when Florida teens are contracting chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis at the highest rates since 2008, according to 2023 data from the Florida Department of Health. Those infections can be cured with antibiotics, but worsen if left untreated. 'I want you to remember that this is the Legislature that talks about life, and STIs that go untreated cause infertility, so that is not life,' said Michelle Grimsley Shindano, director of public policy for the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates. Although the bill originally also required parental consent for examination for STDs, the sponsors in both chambers changed the requirement to only apply to treatment and left the exception in place for minors whose parents are being investigated for a crime against them. Plakon said that she wants to remove a 'loophole' in Florida law that allows physicians to prescribe birth control to a minor if their medical opinion is that the patient would suffer health hazards otherwise. 'We just thought it was too vague,' Plakon said. Another provision would require parents to opt into surveys at schools, including those regarding political affiliations, mental or psychological problems, sexual behavior, self-incriminating behavior, and religion. During an emotional moment during the bill's last committee stop in the Senate Monday, Stuart Republican Sen. Gayle Harrell teared up while she talked about her late husband's work as an OBGYN treating young women. 'He would roll over in his grave right now. I'm a no,' she said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
