New California Bill Seeks to Give Children Age 12 and Up the Right to Get Vaccinations Without Parental Consent

A new California bill would give children the right to get vaccinated without their parents’ consent.

On Friday, California Sen. Scott Wiener introduced a bill that would allow children age 12 and up to get any kind of vaccination without having consent from their parents, including the COVID-19 vaccine. Wiener said young people “deserve the right to protect themselves” from diseases. As of right now, minors under the age of 18 have to receive permission from their parents in order to get vaccinated.

Currently, California allows people 12 and older to make their own decision to get a Hepatitis B and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. Kids in California – in this age group – also have the right on their own to receive treatments for STIs, substance abuse and mental health disorders, KTLA reports. “This is not a new or radical idea, it’s very consistent with existing law,” he said, the news outlet reports.

“You have parents who are blocking their kids from getting the vaccines or … they may not be anti-vaccine but they just aren’t prioritizing it,” Wiener said during a news conference at San Francisco’s Everett Middle School, KTLA reports. “Those kids deserve the right to protect themselves.”