When: this Thursday, February 22nd, 2024 at 1 PM
Where: New Jersey State House Annex, 127 W. State Street, Trenton, New Jersey.
Committee: State Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens.
Sen. Joseph Vitale (D) S1970 “Permits minors 13 years of age and older to consent to behavioral health care services.”
Sen. Raj Mukherji (D) S1188 Lowers age at which minors can consent to behavioral health care treatment from age 16 to age 14.
The New Jersey legislature wants to insert themselves between parents and their children. This is Communism 101.
Here are the details with links to the legislation.
S1970 Sen. Joseph Vitale (D) District 19 (Middlesex) is currently the sole sponsor of “Permits minors 13 years of age and older to consent to behavioral healthcare services.” Sen. Vitale is the chair of the committee.
Statement: “This bill amends current law to lower the age requirement for a minor to consent to behavioral health care services for treatment of mental illness or emotional disorders. Under current law, the minimum age to consent to behavioral health care services for treatment of mental illness or emotional disorders is 16 years of age. A minor under 16 years of age is required to obtain the consent of the minor’s parent or guardian to receive these services.
This bill lowers the age requirement for minors to consent to behavioral health care services to 13 years of age, and provides that the minor’s consent to treatment under the supervision of a physician, an advanced practice nurse, and certain other licensed providers will be valid and binding in the same manner as if the patient had attained the age of majority.”
S1970 does not require parental consent or knowledge. “The consent of no other person or persons, including but not limited to, a spouse, parent, custodian, or guardian, shall be necessary in order to authorize a minor to receive such hospital services, facility, or clinical care or services, medical or surgical care or services, or counseling services from a physician licensed to practice medicine, an individual licensed or certified to provide treatment for an alcohol use disorder, advanced practice nurse, or an individual licensed to provide professional counseling under Title 45 of the Revised Statutes, as appropriate except that behavioral healthcare services for the treatment of mental illness or emotional disorders shall be limited to temporary outpatient services only.”
S1188 Sen Raj Mukherji (D) District 32 (Hudson) is currently the sole sponsor of “Lowers age at which minors can consent to behavioral health care treatment from age 16 to age 14.” This legislation has a companion version in the New Jersey Assembly A2874 sponsored by Assemblyman Anthony Verrilli (D) District 15 (Mercer and Hunterdon) cosponsored by Herb Conaway (D) District 7 (Burlington).
“Under current law, a minor, 16 years of age or older, who believes that he or she is in need of behavioral health care services can consent to temporary outpatient treatment under the supervision of a licensed health care professional, excluding the use or administration of medication, as if the minor had achieved the age of majority. This bill lowers the age at which a minor can consent to such treatment from 16 years of age or older to 14 years of age or older.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death among New Jersey teens. Between 2016 and 2018, the number of suicide deaths among persons ages of ten and 24 in New Jersey was 291.
During the early stages of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, adolescents accounted for a higher proportion of suicides in the United States than in the years prior to the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown. Five states, including New Jersey, had an increase in the absolute count of adolescent suicides during the pandemic. These states also had an increase in the proportion of overall suicides among adolescents.
Twenty-four states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have enacted laws allowing minors to consent to some type of behavioral or mental health treatment, and ten states allow minors between the ages of 12 and 15 to consent to such treatment.
It is the sponsor’s intent to address the issue of, and facilitate efforts to prevent, teen suicide by lowering the age at which a minor, who believes that he or she is in need of behavioral health treatment services, can consent to such services.”
S1188 uses the Covid-19 pandemic as an excuse to allow a minor to seek mental health interventions without parental consent or knowledge.
The age of majority in New Jersey is 18. Even under current law, it is unthinkable that knowing a minor’s brain is not fully formed, particularly in the area of the frontal cortex where risk aversion and reasoning is still developing, they can consent to mental health care interventions. The current laws are irresponsible. The proposed legislation only makes it worse!
S1970 and S1188 in a vulnerable time in a teenager’s life will keep secrets from parents. Parents must be informed about issues regarding their child. The government education system A.K.A. known as public education to which parents pay very high taxes, becomes a compelled actor to potentially encourage a minor child to consent to unspecified behavioral and other healthcare matters (which can include medical and surgical services) without any parental knowledge or consent! Both pieces of legislation effectively put a wall between child and parent.
We urge all citizens who care about families, parents, and children to oppose S1970 and S1188!