By Brenda Baletti, Ph.D.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Tuesday signed a bill requiring parental consent for Iowans under age 18 to receive the HPV and Hep B vaccines.

Senate File 304 rescinds the right of minors to consent to vaccines for sexually transmitted diseases or infections. The new law brings the regulations for human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B (Hep B) vaccines in line with all other vaccines, which already require parental consent.

Previously, Iowa law allowed teens to consent to the vaccines without a parent’s approval — a carve-out Democrats said was designed to protect minors who could not discuss their sexual health or abuse situations with their guardians, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch.

Critics of the old law argued that it enabled informed consent violations, particularly because Merck markets its HPV Gardasil vaccine for children ages 9 to 11, who cannot make informed medical decisions independently.

“A minor cannot enter a binding contract, cannot vote, cannot consent to surgery — and for good reason,” said James Lyons-Weiler, Ph.D., editor-in-chief of Science, Public Health Policy and the Law. “The law has always recognized that the developing brain is not yet equipped to weigh complex, long-term risk-benefit tradeoffs. Vaccines are not exempt from that reality.”

Ben Tapper, a chiropractor, said that “Iowa made history this week” when it passed the new law. “It should be common sense that parents are involved before any vaccine or pharmaceutical is administered to their child.”

Tapper told The Defender the bill represents “a return to informed consent, parental authority and basic common sense.” He added:

“Medical freedom is not about politics. It is about preserving the sacred right of every human being to decide what enters their body without coercion, fear, or force. The moment society hands that authority to institutions instead of individuals, freedom itself begins to disappear.”

Lindsay Maher of Informed Choice Iowa, which organized support for the bill, told The Defender the group is “thrilled” that the bill passed. She called it a step toward reinstating parental rights that have “continually been eroded.”

“Parents know what’s best for their children,” Maher said. Under the Iowa Parental Rights Act that the group previously helped pass, “parents have the authority to make decisions for their children, for all things medical. And so we stand behind that and we are excited to be able to protect that authority.”

District of Columbia court case sparked Iowa pushback

Maher said the group was inspired to push for the bill after watching vaccine attorney Aaron Siri talk about the Mazer vs. the D.C. Department of Health court case on “The Highwire.”

The case was one of several — including one brought by Children’s Health Defense (CHD) — that challenged the D.C. Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act of 2020.

The act allowed children 11 and older to consent to any vaccine — including COVID-19 shots — recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), without parental knowledge if a provider believed the minor was capable of exercising informed consent.

In March 2022, a judge blocked the District of Columbia from enforcing the law in an injunction stemming from the CHD and Mazer cases.

Maher said the lawsuit inspired their group to argue that federal law preempts state law on informed consent for vaccines. She said that three years ago, they approached several legislators who agreed to draft and help pass the bill.

Those representatives included Iowa state Rep. Dan Gehlbach and state Sens. Dennis Guth, Doug Campbell, Lynn Evans and Cherielynn Westrich.

Heated debate in the House over the bill

Introduction of the law sparked a heated, partisan debate, as Democrats sought to preserve the exemption and Republicans moved to end it.

Rep. Austin Baeth, a physician, called the legislation a “pro-cancer bill,” arguing that the HPV vaccine prevents cancer and, with Iowa’s rising cancer rates, the state “should be doing more to prevent cancer, not less.”

Rep. Jeff Shipley said the bill didn’t restrict access to the vaccines — it simply required parental consent. Shipley asked Baeth at what age he would recommend a child take the HPV vaccine.

Baeth said, “prior to sex,” but declined to specify an age, noting that some people take the shot between ages 18 and 20. Shipley pointed out that the drug is indicated for children as young as 9.

“So you believe that in Iowa, a physician should be able to give a Gardasil vaccine to a 9-year-old without permission from their parent?” he asked Baeth.

Baeth said children should have trusting relationships with their doctors when they lack them with their parents, and that other adults must be able to protect them. He said the bill was really about “whether a 17-year-old can make her own decision.”

When Shipley pressed whether the bill treated a 9-year-old identically to a 17-year-old, Baeth conceded it did.

Rep. Austin Harris pushed back on the “pro-cancer” framing. “Are we pro-polio because we require parental consent?” Harris asked. “Pro-measles, pro-mumps, everything else? And I take it personally as someone who has a mother, who is a breast cancer survivor, to be accused of saying, ‘I’m pro-cancer.’”

Lyons-Weiler said that calling the bill “pro-cancer” is a rhetorical move, not a scientific argument.

“It assumes parents will systematically refuse, and it shuts down any honest conversation about the actual evidence base for these vaccines. That’s not how science is supposed to work,” he said.

Parents bear burden of vaccine injuries

The HPV and Hep B vaccines have been linked to serious vaccine injuries.

Some of the signature injuries observed following HPV vaccination include permanently disabling autoimmune and neurological conditions, including postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), fibromyalgia and myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Merck, which makes Gardasil — the only HPV vaccine approved in the U.S. — has faced hundreds of lawsuits over its vaccine, alleging the drugmaker knew its vaccine could cause serious injuries.

The Hep B vaccine has been linked to immune system disorders, including systemic lupus erythematosus, thrombocytopenia, Guillain-Barré syndrome, multiple sclerosis, transverse myelitis, febrile seizures, Bell’s palsy, shingles and encephalitis.

Lyons-Weiler said the vaccine injuries are particularly concerning because manufacturers and the state are protected from liability. All responsibility for navigating an injury falls to the parent.

“The state bears no liability if something goes wrong,” he said. “The manufacturer bears no liability. The parents bear all of it: the medical costs, the caregiving, the lost opportunities. You cannot strip parents of decision-making authority and then hand them the bill. That’s not a policy. That’s an injustice.”

Related articles in The Defender

• CHD Lawsuit Seeks to Overturn D.C. Law Allowing Kids to Be Vaccinated Without Parents’ Knowledge or Consent
• Minors Could Get HPV Vaccine Without Parents’ Consent if New York Bill Passes
• Children’s Health Defense Wins Federal District Court Injunction On District of Columbia’s Minor Consent for Vaccinations Act

The post It’s Official: Iowa Gov. Signs Law Requiring Parental Consent for HPV, Hep B Vaccines appeared first on Children’s Health Defense.

 

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