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Senate passes SR15 urging state agencies to protect medical privacy and civil rights of people with autism
Summary
The Senate passed SR15, a resolution urging Vermont state agencies, departments and offices to protect civil rights, medical confidentiality and privacy of people diagnosed with autism and to ensure information-sharing with any federal autism research database is voluntary.
The Vermont Senate passed SR15, a resolution urging all state agencies, departments and offices to protect the civil rights, medical confidentiality and all aspects of personal privacy of people diagnosed with autism in light of federal news that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services planned to establish an autism research database.
Senator from Chittenden Central, who introduced the resolution in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, told senators the measure affirms that autism is a form of neurodivergence and "brings diversity and vibrance to our communities" rather than being a disease or epidemic. The senator said the resolution does not create new legal protections but asks state agencies to uphold existing law, including HIPAA, and to treat any participation in federal research registries as voluntary.
The resolution was reported favorably by the Senate Health and Welfare Committee and was then ordered for third reading and passed by the full Senate on a voice vote. The resolution will be sent to the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, the director of the National Institutes of Health, Vermont's congressional delegation, the Vermont Secretary of Human Services, the Vermont Human Rights Commission and the governor.
