Florida may require parental consent for teen STI care
Florida lawmakers are considering a bill – backed by a prominent Moms for Liberty and parents' rights advocate– that would require parental consent for minors to receive treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.
The same measure (HB 173) also would allow parents to review and consent to surveys asking their children about their sexuality as well as religious and political beliefs.
Rep. Kim Kendall, R-St. Augustine, said she sought to bolster parental rights to their child’s medical records and health care decisions. Critics disagreed, saying it would limit children from being honest with doctors and prevent teenagers from getting treated for STIs if they don’t want their parents to know.
“You need the parent or a guardian involved in their medical welfare,” Kendall countered.
The bill was OK'd Jan. 27 on a 19-7 vote in the House Health & Human Services Committee; it has two more committees before it can head to the House floor. It has a Senate companion (SB 166) that has not been yet heard in committees there. Several speakers in public comment also shared stories of growing up with parents who rejected their LGBTQ+ identities. The primary concern raised was if a queer teenager was forced to get consent from a parent while fearful of sharing their gender identity or sexual orientation, and fearful of sharing whether they’re sexually active.
As Mitch Rosenwald, D-Oakland Park, said: “There are homophobic parents. There are transphobic parents. The doctor’s office is a safe place for the referrals that are needed.”
Kara Gross, with the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, said that the bill would “endanger the health of minor children in the name of parental rights.” Gross said it would also make it harder for young people to access birth control: “Are we really requiring doctors to turn away minors with untreated STIs?”
One parent who spoke in favor of the bill was January Littlejohn, a Leon County parent whose national profile rose after claims that the county school system violated her constitutional rights when employees created a secret “gender-support plan” for her child, who was 13 years old at the time.
Littlejohn since has become a face of the parents' rights movement, appearing alongside Gov. Ron DeSantis and speaking at numerous events for conservative groups, including Moms for Liberty and the Heritage Foundation. In 2025, she was invited by First Lady Melania Trump to attend President Donald Trump's joint address to Congress.