Politics

Balkcom files Parents’ Medical Bill of Rights

Rep. Jennifer Balkcom announces Parents’ Medical Bill of Rights as co-sponsors of HB 519: Representatives Brian Biggs, Neal Jackson and Donnie Loftis look on.

By Lightning Reports, Published: March 29, 2025

State Rep. Jennifer Balkcom has filed a bill she says is intended to advance a broader movement to return the decision-making power regarding North Carolina’s children back to their parents.

The Parents’ Medical Bill of Rights would:

• Require parental consent for most medical treatments previously allowed without it.
• Ensure parents have access to their minor child’s medical records, unless abuse is suspected or a valid court order says otherwise.
• Protect minors in sensitive situations, such as abuse investigations, by maintaining exceptions where appropriate.

“As parents across North Carolina know, your responsibility doesn’t end when your child walks into a hospital or clinic,” Balkcom, a second-term Republican from Henderson County, said in a news release issued Friday. “Yet, for decades, outdated statutes, like this one dating back over 50 years, have allowed minors to receive certain medical treatments without their parent’s consent or even their knowledge. That includes treatment for mental health, sexually transmitted infections, substance abuse and more.”

Parents’ rights to be involved in their minor children’s health care, the news release noted, was just reaffirmed by the March 21 state Supreme Court ruling in Happle v. Guilford County Schools, which made it clear that parents have a fundamental, constitutional right to consent to medical treatment for their children.

“Parents are what’s best for their children. They are legally, morally, and emotionally responsible for their care,” Balkcom said. “Yet today, many parents are being denied access to their child’s medical records, pharmacy reports or mental health information, based solely on a minor’s consent. We believe that is wrong.”