TALLAHASSEE, FL – Earlier today, two harmful bills endangering the well-being of children advanced their respective Florida House committees.
The Florida House Education and Employment Committee passed House Bill 1505, which would require healthcare providers to withhold STI treatment from minors and make it harder for minors to access birth control. Additionally, the Florida House Commerce Committee advanced House Bill 1225, which would reverse longstanding child labor protections and force youth to choose between prioritizing their education or their jobs.
By passing their respective committees, HB 1505 and HB 1225 are now eligible for a House floor vote.
Kara Gross, legislative director and senior policy counsel at the ACLU of Florida, responded to today’s votes with the following:
“Certain Florida lawmakers are quick to back censorship laws in the name of protecting children, yet they have advanced two bills that would effectively endanger children’s physical safety.
“If passed into law, HB 1505 would force a medical professional to withhold from treating a young person with an STI– unless they can secure a parent’s consent.
“What if the healthcare provider can’t reach the parent? Are we truly considering requiring doctors to turn away a patient with an untreated STI? Have we gotten this callous and careless in our approach to children’s health? At the very least, the bill should explicitly provide that if a healthcare professional is unable to reach the parent, they can still provide healthcare to the minor.
“HB 1505 would also make it significantly harder for young people to access birth control. Given the state’s extreme six-week abortion ban, we should be doing everything we can to help young people protect themselves against unintended pregnancies. Harming minor children in the name of 'parental rights’ has become a dangerous double standard that will come at the cost of children’s well-being.
“Separately, HB 1225 reverses long-standing child labor protections and prioritizes employer profits over the education, safety, and well-being of our youth. The bill would undo decades of labor protections set in place to protect young people in the workforce.
“Removing these legal protections is bad policy and disproportionately harms low-income, rural communities, and people of color in Florida. Employers who are intent on exploiting young workers should not be given more tools to exert this pressure. The well-being of our children should come before the interests of corporations and employers. Unsurprisingly, HB 1225 has received widespread opposition.
“We are nearing the end of the legislative session, and seeing lawmakers prioritize bills that could physically harm children speaks volumes. Time is running out, so it is up to us to urge our legislators to vote NO on any bill that endangers the health and safety of children in Florida. It is the least our legislature can do.”
