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Debate in Human Services hearing pits parental access bill against pediatricians’ concerns over confidential adolescent care
Summary
House Bill 14-50 would require providers to allow parents or guardians into a minor's medical exam room and give written notice of certain screening questions; supporters said the bill protects parental rights while medical groups warned it would reduce confidential time clinicians need to detect abuse, mental health risks and risky behavior.
House Human Services Committee heard extensive testimony on House Bill 14-50, which would add a section to chapter 14-10 clarifying that a parent or guardian has access to the medical examination room of their minor child and requiring providers to give notice of that right and of the questions they intend to ask. Representative Sue Ann Olson (District 8), sponsor of the bill, said the measure is “a simple but important bill that protects parents' rights in medical exam rooms.”
Supporters told the committee that parents should be present to protect children and to know how answers will be recorded; Matt Flanders, legislative and policy director at Citizens' Council for Health Freedom, argued that parents should decide whether their child receives confidential care and that the bill protects parental authority. “This bill affirms the parental and guardian's rights as far as what a medical provider may be able to ascertain by having a private conversation with that child,” Flanders said.
Medical organizations and clinicians testified in opposition. Donna Throdson of the North Dakota Medical Association introduced Dr. David Field, a family physician, who said the bill would limit clinicians' ability to ask unpredictable, open‑ended questions necessary for diagnosis and to detect child abuse, substance use, suicide risk and other conditions. “There are definitely times when a health care provider needs a private conversation with the child or adolescent,” Dr. Field said, noting that 77 percent of offenders in cited statistics are parents or close relatives. Dr. Cathy Anderson, a pediatrician and immediate past president of the North Dakota Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said confidential time is a best practice that encourages adolescents to disclose suicidal ideation, depression, substance use and sexual health concerns that they would not discuss with a parent present.
Committee members raised trafficking and abuse concerns. Representative Gretchen Dobrevitch asked how the bill would apply if a trafficker or abusive parent is the person accompanying the child; the sponsor and witnesses noted the bill’s exemptions for emancipated minors and suspected abuse and said clinicians retain mandatory reporting duties. Several public health and school health witnesses described cases in which children disclosed abuse only to a trusted clinician or school nurse when the parent was not present.
Opponents warned about practical effects. Clinicians said the bill’s requirement that providers give written notice ahead of time of the specific questions they intend to ask could be infeasible in many clinical encounters, where the questions follow the patient's answers. Dr. Field testified that listing all possible questions in advance would limit clinicians’ ability to follow the course of an exam and identify safety risks.
The committee closed the hearing on House Bill 14-50 after receiving testimony from sponsors, advocacy groups, pediatricians, hospitals and public health representatives. No committee vote was recorded during the session.
