A bill currently under consideration in Illinois would allow children 12 and up to apply for Medicaid to pay for “family planning” services. Specifically, HB 5473, introduced on February 9th by Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy (D-Chicago), states:
“Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph (2), a minor who is 12 years of age or older may sign and file an application on the minor’s own behalf if such application is for the Article V family planning program enacted by Public Act 102-665 amending Section 5-5 of this Code.”
I have a couple of questions about this. Why would a 12-year-old need to apply for Medicaid benefits on her own? Shouldn’t someone be taking care of that child, and if nobody is, shouldn’t we be more concerned about finding a guardian for her? Shouldn’t that come first?
Is there another reason for this bill?
I can’t help but think of all the efforts to allow children to seek trans care without notifying parents. Also, there already is a law on the books that allows a child to get an abortion without notifying her parents if a judge approves. Is this just an indirect way to permit a 12-year-old to get an abortion without parental or judicial approval?
What about in vitro fertilization (IVF)? Would Medicaid pay for that for a 12-year-old if the girl decided she wanted to become pregnant? Medicaid in Illinois was expanded to include abortions. Is IVF included as well?
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a bill to redefine child abuse. That bill, HB 4876, would classify any parent who tries to prevent their child from getting an abortion or “gender-affirming care” as a child abuser. In other words, the medical care the child wants is the medical care a child should get.
What?
Where did the idea come from that “children know best,” that they know better than their parents what they need? How is it that a child can apply for Medicaid to be eligible for family planning health services without any adult supervision?
As best I can tell it comes from the “my body, my choice” crowd. It’s that same group that has influenced the children’s rights movement that promotes the idea, internationally, that children have an absolute right to experience sexual pleasure whenever and with whomever they want. Children have the same right to bodily autonomy as do adults, so these absolutists believe.
Why is it, then, that a child cannot ask the school nurse for an aspirin and get one administered without parental consent? Why can’t a 13-year-old get a driver’s license? If a 12-year-old can get Medicare for family planning, why not let her get married if she wants?
We are creating a collection of laws that have gaping inconsistencies. Not only that, many of these laws and proposed laws make no sense.
A 12-year-old is not able to provide informed consent about anything. They can’t consent to having sex, so if they need family planning services shouldn’t we first start looking for who violated the child? If the father is another 12- or 13-year-old, they don’t need family planning, they need re-parenting. If the father is 16 or 17 or older, that predator needs to go to prison.
The point is that the child needs guidance, not autonomy. Being left to fend for herself is the very last thing she needs. How does this proposed law help a child who is in need of family planning services?
It doesn’t.
The age of majority in Illinois is 18. I think that is still too young, given that the brain is not fully developed until about 25, when the reasoning center completes its growth. Life-altering decisions require the strongest reasoning ability. So why would you allow someone to make such decisions at 18, years before their brain is equipped to do so? And why on earth would you give a 12-year-old responsibility for any weighty decisions when the child is so ill-equipped both in knowledge and mental capacity to make them?
State Representative Cassidy should do the right thing and withdraw this bill.
Take ACTION: Click HERE to email your state representative to ask him/her to oppose HB 5473. This is a horrible bill that further erodes parental rights and puts young girls at great risk.
NOTE: This bill was scheduled for a hearing in the Illinois House Human Services Committee on March 21st but was not called. It may be called for a hearing anytime over the next several weeks.
