Can Children Make Life-Changing Health Decisions?

 Introduction

I would like to write about this since this is a situation that is hitting somewhat towards the county that I live in. This is affecting kids, and that's where I have a problem, kids are not old enough to make their own decisions, especially when it comes to getting the COVID vaccine. As a person that loves kids, this is where we need people to stand up for the children!

What is SB 866?

This bill was introduced by a man named Scott Wiener. He was elected back in November of 2016 and represents District 11 in the California State Senate. District 11 covers San Francisco, Daly City, Colma, and Broadmoor. His goals are to make housing affordable, put money towards transportation systems, "easier access" to healthcare, support working families, and spread awareness of climate change.

According to Wiener's website, "SB 866 permits minors 12 years and older to consent to vaccination when the vaccine is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and meets the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. SB 866 builds on existing law, which currently allows minors 12 and over to make choices about their bodies around reproductive healthcare. SB 866 protects the ability of young people to live healthy lives, helps keep schools open and safe, increases vaccination rates, and promotes public health in California."

So hold on wait a minute, you are telling me that these kids are just allowed to make their own decisions at the age of 12? I think whoever developed this bill completely disregarded the fact that these children have parents, the set of people that should actually be making the decision for these children. Last time I checked, the age of consent for most things is supposed to be 18, and the brain isn't fully developed until one is 25 or 26. What makes people think that 12-year-olds can make health decisions for themselves, I highly doubt that they own and keep their medical records. Don't get me wrong, there are very smart and independent children who have a maturity level that is well above their age group, but I'm talking about the average children that age, not the very few extremities within that demographic.

Another part of the bill says that minors 12 and older can consent to birth control and abortions as well as consenting to a medical diagnosis and treatment for any STIs, drug/alcohol related situations, mental health disorders, etc. 

How does this affect kids?

Kids will now be able to make health-related decisions that could be life-changing or death-threatening. If the kids decide to not inform their parents about getting the vaccine, they are allowed to do that because the law will protect them from facing consequences. It encourages secretive behavior among the kids thinking and could develop trust issues with the parents later on if their rendezvous somehow gets exposed.

My Final Thoughts

I got asked by one of my friends to make a statement about why I oppose the bill being asked, I'll just copy and paste the quote I sent to her. 

"Children should have that connection with their parents to comfortably tell them things. The fact that the school is trying to breach its way into parenthood is beyond disgusting. Do they want the kids to keep secrets from their parents about injecting an experimental, yet flawed, vaccine into their bodies? What happens when the side effects kick in, the parents of those children won't know what's wrong and won't know what to do! The schools want to have children think that keeping secrets from their parents is okay. It's enabling them to behave badly and it will deter their way of critically thinking about decisions. My cousin's friend DIED from the vaccine, what if that happens to other children?! No one wants to talk about these things because the vaccine is just a ploy to try and make people bow down and cave to these standards that take away our freedom of choice! Lowering the age of consent is a thing that should not be done! It's the parent's decision if they want their children to have the vaccine! The school should not be praying on those kids to fulfill whatever metrics the CDC or government wants"

Why does Wiener want to invoke this type of behavior? He should not be sticking his Wiener where it doesn't belong, let the parents make the decisions, or at least help guide their kids to making the right decisions. I understand that there could be situations where the parents are not capable of being parents, but that's a whole other subject, I'm talking about the families where the mom and dad are capable of making smart and logical decisions.

Should the bill get passed? The answer is NO! Children need to be protected at all costs, we cannot let these people like Wiener tear families apart.