On review, part of my post was a little unclear. The last sentence in the second paragraph should have read “Should the hospital or doctor’s office be required to notify the girl’s parents in that case?”
Robin
I agree that there needs to be some way for girls from these kinds of families to get out of the notification. But that should not be the ‘default setting,’ as it were, for the law. I feel that the state should assume that the parents are decent people doing their best unless the girl says otherwise or there is something obviously wrong. It should be far more nuanced and local, with the girl’s and doctor’s input, not the state’s.
I don’t feel completely comfortable relying only on the girl’s discretion. I’m sure we have all known kids who tried to report their parents to CPS out of spite, not because of actual abuse.
(emphasis added)
Your post contradicts itself. In the first paragraph, you say that “if the girl says otherwise”, it’s okay not to notify the parents, but in the second, you say that you don’t feel comfortable relying on the girl. Which is it?
Robin
**
But, yet, OTOH, parents can be charged with neglect if they don’t take care of their kids. How can I reasonably be said to be taking care of my child’s health if they are going in for procedures without my consent (or at the very least, my knowledge)?
Zev Steinhardt
I am not a lawyer, and I’d appreciate hearing from one here, but I am under the impression that doctors are not required to notify parents when minors are treated for ANYTHING, a presumption of “parents’ rights” or the “hugeness of the decision” notwithstanding.
From my admittedly hazy memory, there are very specific situations where a physician can act in loco parentis, including when a lack of immediate action would pose a high risk to the child. Other than that, medical authorities must have parental consent for treatment.
I’m not a lawyer, either. This is what I was told in EMT training.
To quote from the Health and Human Services page regarding HIPAA regulations:
So, from what I understand, if it is legal (in one’s state) for a minor to obtain said health-care (in this case, abortion), then the parent does not have the right to obtain the information regarding the abortion.
From my time working in health insurance, I also know that, at least here in VT, minors had the right to privacy about mental health care, substance abuse care, and care relating to pregnancy or STDs.
Whoops, let me ammend that last paragraph to read "minors age 13 and above have the right to privacy, etc etc etc.
HIPAA varies state to state, at least that’s what I thought.
No, Eilsel. HIPAA is federal. Other states might have their own laws on the subject, but HIPAA is federal and thus does not vary state to state.
Robin
I’m just saying that we need to be careful. Obviously we have to rely mostly on the girl’s testimony, since abuse can be well-hidden; but OTOH lying does happen. A doctor faced with that kind of situation would want to do some careful investigating, and no matter what, cases would end up on the wrong side of the line, because nothing is perfect. But the state ought not to presume automatically that parents will be evilly punitive and abusive if they find out that their daughter wants an abortion.
Another question…
Somewhere, a bill is going to be generated.
What happens when the parents get the bill in the mail? Or a notice from the insurance company? Surely a young girl in that much trouble is not going to be able to pay with cash.
The parents are going to find out one way or another. So if a girl is at risk from abusive parents, wouldn’t it be best to know ahead of time, rather than doing the procedure, sending her home, and having the parents find out a few months later?
As much as I distrust DSS, perhaps they need to investigate if a child is in fear of telling her parents about her pregnancy. She can then be removed from the situation if warranted.
Bottom line, I do not want my daughter to walk into a hospital and have any procedure performed without my knowledge.
Dropzone, IANAL either, but I know that I have signed Waiver of Consent forms for my children at their schools, so in the case of an emergency WHERE THEY CANNOT CONTACT ME, any lifesaving procedures can be done without my permission.
I don’t think minor patients have a right to doctor/patient privilege where their parents are concerned, correct?
Typically, Federal regulations like HIPAA define the minimum of protection. While states can INCREASE protection they cannot reduce it.
Neglect is about withholding certain things (adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care). If a kid is seeing a doctor (or at least is not being prevented from seeing a doctor) there is no neglect by law. The parent has no legal liability for any procedure which is undertaken by a child under the shield of doctor-patient confidentiality. The onus is on the doctor to provide reasonable care.
Wild guess: The teenage girl in question may be going to Planned Parenthood and explaining the situation. They have sliding-scale fees and have probably dealt with the “I can’t tell my parents but I’m poor” situation before.
I’m having no luck in digging up information on my workplace’s website regarding parents, minors, and patient-doctor confidentiality; the search function isn’t that great.
Are doctors supposed to be detectives? Are they supposed to hire private eyes to find out if a girl is really abused? What method of “careful investigating” di you recommend?
The default position is that a kid is a human being with rights. If a girl says that she is abused then we must err on the side of the child. It would be impossible and ludicrous for health care providers to conduct private investigations before they provide a desperate kid with service. The proper thing for the state to “presume” is that a patient is telling the truth unless proven otherwise.
DOH! You’re right, I’m thinking of the ERISA preemption and all that crap.
Heh, now I found it. One additional exception to the rules that Eonwe quoted - and which is true for all personal representative relationships - is that the health care provider may withhold information from a parent if the minor is deemed to be a victim of abuse or neglect, or if otherwise providing the information could endanger the minor. I’m not sure where “my parents will kick me out of the house if they find out I’m pregnant” falls into that description, but I’m sure something like “my dad would hit me if he found out” probably would.
My memory seems to tell me that if a physician has evidence that points toward child abuse, including statements from the minor patient, it must be reported - but I can’t dig up anything on that at the moment.
My ex was definitely pro-abortion. She thought it was a perfectly viable means of birth control. Furthermore, she actually stated that infanticide should be legal until the child is 2 years old. That’s just cold.
:eek: :eek:
I’m glad she’s your ex!