Medical providers fear new law will increase teen health issues

By Karen Matthee
Reader Staff

Health care providers throughout Idaho are sounding an alarm: A new law threatens to increase unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, drug abuse and mental health issues among our youth.

“The Consent and Privacy for Minors Act is vague and untested in the courts,” said Cynthia Dalsing, a certified nurse midwife in Sandpoint for 25 years. “This law will put a chilling effect on all health care providers providing the best and safest care for their minor patients.”

Karen Matthee. File photo.

In addition to impacting testing and treatment for STDs and a rise in teen pregnancies, Dalsing said the law could delay identifying minors at risk for suicide or in an abusive setting.

Senate Bill 1329 was passed unanimously by Republican lawmakers in both the Idaho House and Senate this past session. Only Democratic legislators voted against the bill. Effective July 1, the new law requires parents and guardians of patients aged 17 and younger to consent to any and all treatments and gives parents complete access to their children’s medical records. Parents also need to be present at check-in and check-out for appointments.

Under the old version, minors aged 14 and older were legally allowed consent to certain treatments without the parents’ permission or knowledge and were able to keep certain records private.

Even Gov. Brad Little expressed concern about S.B. 1329 on the very day he signed it — March 21, 2024. In a letter to Senate President Scott Bedke, Little stated that he feared the legislation would “create confusion for medical professionals and complicate their ability to deliver necessary care to all Idahoans and protect patients’ confidential information.”

Little also urged “stakeholders to closely monitor any negative consequences this legislation has on our youth accessing the behavioral health supports they need.” He said he expected the bill to be amended if “unintended barriers” occur.

Dalsing noted that the law’s lack of a formal mechanism to monitor its effects is also worrisome. 

Recently, a Sandpoint therapist who sees minor patients told me she is especially concerned that LGBTQ youths will not seek help for depression when they are not supported by family members at home. She fears the result will be more suicides among that population.

Tabitha Barron, a women’s health nurse practitioner in Sandpoint, said most of the adolescents she sees are daughters of current patients who have already given consent for the girls to meet privately with her. 

“I recognize that I’m lucky that way,” she said.

But roughly 10% of the minors she’s been seeing — up until July 1 — were coming without their parents’ knowledge. 

“Their parents don’t know they are sexually active,” Barron said. “But they are not making risky choices. They’re being smart and taking care of their bodies.”

Barron has not seen any of those patients since July 1, and she worries about them. 

“They’re not getting STD screening, no birth control. I can’t reach out to them and know they are safe,” she added.

When I talk to these providers, I hear the frustration in their voices. They care deeply about their patients and want to protect them — it’s what they are trained to do. But S.B. 1329 hampers their ability to provide the best possible care for all their patients. 

At the very least, we need a system to monitor the impacts of this legislation — sooner rather than later.

Karen Matthee is the Democratic candidate for House Seat 1A.