August 10, 2021 - Washington, D.C. — On Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Medical Association (AMA), the Washington, DC chapter of the AAP, the Medical Society of the District of Columbia, and the Society of Adolescent Health and Medicine filed an amicus brief (PDF) in support of the District of Columbia’s Minor Consent Act, a public health law protecting minors’ access to medical care. The groups’ brief was filed by Democracy Forward in one of two separate lawsuits that were brought in federal court last month challenging the law. The brief urges the court to dismiss the challenge.

D.C.’s Minor Consent Act permits minors capable of informed consent to obtain vaccines if they so choose in specific circumstances. The standard of care for physicians is to involve parents in medical decisions for their minor children, including vaccines. But occasionally, parental involvement is impossible, impractical, or even harmful. The brief highlights situations in which “[m]inors may be effectively independent, such as when they are married, in the military, or unaccompanied and homeless. A minor’s guardian may be unable to participate in a minor’s care due to work, illness, or other issues in the home.”

Minors may also have reason to believe a parent would punish them for wanting to get vaccinated or for seeking other medical treatment like mental health services. When such situations arise, the brief argues that minors should be able to access potentially lifesaving care.

“The current Delta variant surge of COVID-19 is an alarming reminder that vaccines save lives and protect communities, as the majority of those who are severely ill and dying from the virus currently are unvaccinated,” said AAP President Lee Savio Beers, MD, FAAP. “We saw nearly double the number of children contracting the virus last week from the week before, and we have a safe vaccine available for children ages 12 and up. I live and practice pediatric medicine in DC, and I am grateful that its minor consent law covers those rare instances when a minor child is seeking a life-saving vaccine.”

The growing threat of vaccine hesitancy has led to steep declines in vaccination rates in the United States. Recent outbreaks have occurred for measles and pertussis, both primarily afflicting unvaccinated children. Allowing minors capable of informed consent to obtain vaccines if they so choose is an important step toward reversing these trends.

“Physicians are well able to assess whether a minor is sufficiently mature to understand and give consent for medically appropriate vaccinations,” said AMA President Gerald Harmon, MD. “The medical community, federal and state law have long recognized that minors can be capable of informed consent for other health care services without parental consent. To maximize immunization opportunities for children, legislative policies should be encouraged and preserved that allow mature minors to give informed consent for vaccinations recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.”

The brief explains that the Minor Consent Act is entirely consistent with medical best practices, public health, constitutional requirements, and federal law. “D.C.’s Minor Consent Act is important to ensuring access to life-saving health care and is consistent with the law and informed by best medical practices and public health guidance,” said Democracy Forward President and CEO, Skye Perryman. “We’re proud to represent these leading medical groups in urging the court to dismiss a flawed challenge to D.C.’s Minor Consent Act.” The amicus brief was led in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on August 6, 2021.
Source: AMA