D.C. Law Allowing Child Vaccinations Without Parental Consent Blocked
On March 22, 2022, A federal judge temporarily prevented a D.C. law from allowing children to vaccinate without parental consent, including the COVID-19 vaccine. That Minor agreement to amend the Vaccination Act said children as young as 11 vaccinate if the health care provider deems them capable of giving informed consent to the need and risks of the vaccine. The DC Council Act went into effect in 2020 and was not written with COVID vaccines in mind. Council members believe the law can help more teenagers go for vaccinating against the sexually transmitted virus HPV. Washington Post said.
The mail said the MCA targets religious parents. The parents filed two lawsuits against the law. Last Friday, Judge Trevor McFadden of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a preliminary injunction preventing the law from effect.
One lawsuit filed by parents of children attending district public and charter schools alleges that the law “undermines the right and responsibility of parents to make informed decisions about whether their children should receive immunizations.” mail said. The second lawsuit, filed by a Maryland parent, alleges that his daughter tried to make the vaccine in the county without his knowledge and against his religious objections.
Children’s Health Defense
Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., filed one of the lawsuits.
The judge said he considered parents could successfully inquire the law because it violates their religious freedom rights. Mail said. McFadden also said that “their children will use MCA to vaccinate behind their (parents’) backs.”
The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other medical organizations have filed a summary in this case, stating that it is helpful for parents can interesting in their children’s medical decisions, “sometimes parental involvement is not possible, appropriate, or even harmful.”
D.C. Council member Mary M. Czech introduced the bill. mail, there is no evidence that the plaintiff’s children were vaccinated without parental consent. “To be eligible to file a claim, you must have had a direct, specific injury. This cannot be speculative. And there is a lot of speculation,” she said.
Kaiser Family Foundation says 42 states require parental consent to receive a COVID vaccine.
