Protecting the Parent-Child Relationship #TeenTuesday
Contributing article by Teens Against Mandates
I recently had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Kheriaty and Laura Sextro on the Unity Project podcast, in which they each voiced their concerns regarding two very inflammatory California Senate bills: SB 871 and SB 866. California State Senators have been introducing new legislation regarding the COVID-19 vaccine since January 2022. Both Bill 871 and 866 contain broader implications for how California should handle the mandates and consent surrounding the vaccine.
SB 866: Proposed by Senator Pan; lowers the age of covid vaccine consent to 12 years without parental consent.
SB 871: Proposed by Senator Weiner and Newman; adds the covid vaccine to required immunization schedule for all schools, regardless of status of FDA approval.
If this dangerous pair doesn’t scream “Totalitarianism!” I’m not sure what does.
Both bills, to a large degree, would force parents to co-parent with the government. Not only would this jeopardize the sacred parent-child relationship, forcing a transfer of authority from parent to government, but they would also place children in danger.
Children do not have the executive functioning necessary to give informed consent to medical decisions that may have long-term health consequences. Under Bill 866, a child as young as 12-years-old would be able to receive the shot from any vaccine site, without guardian notification or consent. Bill 866, specifically, has been the subject to tremendous push-back from parent groups, who vehemently oppose this encroachment on their rights as parents. Largely thanks to their efforts, this bill has been defeated. Weiner’s response? “The anti-vaxxers may have prevailed in this particular fight, but the broader fight for science and health continues.”
However, he fails to acknowledge the risks associated with the vaccine, declining vaccine efficacy against new variants, and the protection from any liability for these vaccine manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies—some of the same reasons many parents are avoiding vaccinating their child at all costs.
Secondly, Bill 871 also failed, attempting to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of prerequisite immunizations for students (K-12) to attend school. Under this bill, no personal exemption requests would have been viewed as legitimate. In other words, your personal beliefs are meaningless in the eyes of the California legislature. Met with controversy over the elimination of personal belief exemptions as well as the rapid fall of COVID-19 cases, the bill lost support.
Bill 866 and Bill 871 undermine parents’ prerogative. It limits their ability to be held responsible for the health of their child, and it damages the trust that binds parent and child together. Disguised by the mask of “public safety,” these bills are now failed attempts to override rights to informed consent, parental authority over their children, bodily autonomy, and free thinking.