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Panel advances bill narrowing adolescent confidentiality; doctors and therapists warn it could reduce care seeking
Summary
House committee approved a clarification bill to align code with the Families Rights and Responsibilities Act so parents can access unemancipated minors' medical records; physicians and therapists told the panel that eroding confidentiality for 16‑ and 17‑year‑olds risks public health and therapeutic trust.
The House Health Committee voted to advance a bill intended to clarify parents' access to unemancipated minors’ medical records, including mental‑health and prescription records.
Sponsor said HB 8‑53 corrects inconsistencies in Tennessee code created after overlapping 2024 laws and restores parental access to medical records in multiple sections. The sponsor and a supporter from a parental‑rights group described the change as aligning earlier acts and preserving statutory exceptions for cases that would endanger a child.
Multiple health professionals testified in opposition. Kayla Garretson of the Tennessee Freedom Initiative said departments were consulted on amended language and that she supported it, but Melody Klein of the Tennessee Association for Marriage and Family Therapy warned the change would undermine confidentiality that enables adolescents to disclose abuse and receive care: “Without trust, you cannot feel safe enough to talk about the important things.”
Dr. Meg Benningfield, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, said confidentiality is core to adolescent clinical practice and that removing privacy guarantees would make some teens avoid care, with public‑health consequences: “When adolescents lack the assurance that they can receive confidential health care, they prefer to forego care rather than seek care that their parents might learn about.” She recounted a case in which a teen disclosed assault and clinicians helped facilitate family engagement; she said exceptions for danger remain but cautioned against broad access.
Committee members asked about the amendment's exceptions. Sponsor and a committee member (speaker 17) pointed to statutory language preserving exceptions — for instance where disclosure is reasonably likely to endanger the life or safety of the minor — and to existing allowances for services such as STD treatment, contraceptives and prenatal care. After debate, the committee passed HB 8‑53 as amended to Calendar and Rules (11 ayes, 7 nays, 2 present not voting).
