California Lowers Age of Consent for STD Vaccine

CitizenLink:  Over the weekend, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a raft of bills into law — including AB 499, which will allow any child 12 or older to be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV) without her parents’ consent.

Ironically, Brown also signed SB 746, which bans anyone under 18 from using a commercial tanning bed.

“It’s pretty difficult to have any thoughts other than to shake your head and wonder how he intends to line the two up,” said Ron Prentice, executive director of the California Family Council, which organized grassroots efforts against A.B. 499. “We recognize that as the citizens continue to sit on their hands, government continues to take away more rights and responsibilities from parents.”

The vaccine — called Gardasil — protects against some — but not all — strains of HPV, which is a sexually transmitted infection.

“We already know that a school nurse can’t hand out an Advil, but he or she can take a child off campus for an abortion, and now for the vaccination (with) Gardasil,” Prentice said.

Prentice said a coalition of family groups will spend the next few years fighting to put a proposal on the ballot to repeal the law.