Florida Phoenix
Doctors could soon be able to perform emergency medical care on minors in various locations and without parental consent.
State lawmakers in the Florida House and Senate passed the measure during the 2022 legislative session, and it will head to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk for consideration.
The legislation would allow licensed physicians to “provide emergency medical care or treatment to a minor without parental consent,” though it doesn’t specify the locations where emergency care could be rendered.
However, a legislative aide to State Sen. Jennifer Bradley, a Republican who sponsored the initiative, confirmed on Thursday with the Florida Phoenix that a variety of locations where doctors could perform emergency care would be covered under the bill.
That means a licensed doctor can offer emergency treatment to kids who are involved in a serious accident at a sporting event or in a grocery store or other venues.
Bradley, who represents several North Florida counties, told the Phoenix earlier that the initiative addressing emergency care for young kids came about after doctors expressed fears over lawsuits involving when they could legally treat a child in an emergency.
“The concern this bill addresses was shared with me by local doctors, local medical societies, the FMA (Florida Medical Association) and others,” said Bradley.
State Rep. Ralph Massullo, a Republican representing Citrus County and part of Hernando, sponsored the bill on the House side. As previously reported by the Phoenix, Massullo presented his bill during a health-related subcommittee in the state House during the session, but it took only 13-seconds.
Current law states that parental consent is required for a physician to provide emergency medical care to a minor outside of a hospital or college health service, according to a legislative analysis. Only “paramedics, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and other emergency medical services personnel” are allowed to provide emergency care to minors in a prehospital setting, such as an ambulance or on the roadside.
But the measure goes further, allowing “physicians to provide such care in prehospital settings,” such as an ambulance or at an accident scene, “similar to EMTs and paramedics, or in hospital settings,” according to a legislative analysis.
Stephen Winn, executive director of the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association, told the Phoenix in a phone conversation that he also believes the bill would apply to various locations where doctors could perform emergency medical care on minors.
Winn explained that his association strongly supports the bill.
The issue of parental consent for kids was pointed out in the legislative analysis: “The interest of parents in the care, custody, and control of their children is perhaps the oldest of the recognized fundamental liberty interests protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
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Issac Morgan reporting via Florida Phoenix.
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