New Law in Tennessee Requires Parental Consent
By Olivia Wann, JD
The Family Rights and Responsibilities Act took effect July 1, 2024 in Tennessee. Of key interest to healthcare professionals is that the parental rights are exclusively reserved to a parent of a child without obstruction of a government entity including the rights to make all physical and mental healthcare decisions for the child and consent to all physical and mental health care on the child’s behalf.
From our perspective in the dental profession, it has been customary for parents or legal guardians to sign the consent forms for dental treatment. However, prior to this new law in Tennessee, teens had access to certain health care such as birth control, treatment for STDs and pregnancy testing in public health clinics in our state, including teens as young as 14.
With the new law in place in Tennessee, health departments are required to have a parent present or provide verbal consent over the phone for such services for minors.
Reference: https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=SB2749
