(The Center Square) – What legislation supporters call a win for parental rights in Ohio has some worried that children suffering from abuse or neglect could be further harmed.
The state Senate could soon take up a bill that would require health care providers to give parents access to a minor’s health records to the fullest extent allowed by law.
Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery) says the legislation began from the bottom up, with parents upset about a lack of access to their child’s medical records.
“The My Child-My Chart act is truly a piece of legislation that blossomed from the grassroots Ohioans,” Click said in a statement. “This legislation developed from a group of parents who came to me frustrated by the sudden lack of access to their children’s medical records. Today, my colleagues and I took a major step in rectifying this issue and ensuring that moms and dads can fulfill their parental responsibilities.”
The My Child-My Chart Act also would require a parent or guardian to be informed of three things, including:
• The circumstances in which Ohio law permits minors to receive health care without parental or guardian consent.
• That medical records related to care a minor received without parental or guardian consent may not be disclosed to a parent or guardian without the minor’s authorization.
• A minor’s consent for parent or guardian access to the minor’s medical records is valid only for records regarding care provided to the minor by the health care provider obtaining the minor’s consent.
However, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender activist group believes the bill would weaken the state’s current mental health exception and force gay and lesbian teenagers to come out to parents who might not be supportive.
In Ohio, teens 14 and older can get outpatient mental health services for a short period of time without parental consent.
“By empowering coercive and controlling parents to get access to sensitive records, this bill erases an existing balance,” Equity Ohio said in a news release. “It strips away critical lifelines for young people experiencing depression, anxiety, abuse, or fear of rejection, including LGBTQ+ kids, and any young person who may be in harm’s way at home.”
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LGBTQ+ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning and/or queer, with the plus representing inclusion of all other nonheterosexual identities not explicitly listed in the acronym.
The Senate has not set committee hearings for the bill.
