Terms Used In Tennessee Code > Title 68 > Health > Chapter 33 - [Health and Welfare of Minors]

• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Congenital defect: means a physical or chemical abnormality present in a minor that is inconsistent with the normal development of a human being of the minor's sex, including abnormalities caused by a medically verifiable disorder of sex development, but does not include gender dysphoria, gender identity disorder, gender incongruence, or any mental condition, disorder, disability, or abnormality. See Tennessee Code 68-33-102
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Healthcare provider: means a healthcare professional, establishment, or facility licensed, registered, certified, or permitted pursuant to this title or title 63 and under the regulatory authority of:
  (A) The department of health. See Tennessee Code 68-33-102
• Hormone: means an androgen or estrogen. See Tennessee Code 68-33-102
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Medical procedure: means :
  (A) Surgically removing, modifying, altering, or entering into tissues, cavities, or organs of a human being. See Tennessee Code 68-33-102
• Minor: means an individual under eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 68-33-102
• Parent: means any biological, legal, or adoptive parent or parents of the minor or any legal guardian of the minor. See Tennessee Code 68-33-102
• Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Puberty blocker: means a drug or device that suppresses the production of hormones in a minor's body to stop, delay, or suppress pubertal development. See Tennessee Code 68-33-102
• Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Sex: means a person's immutable characteristics of the reproductive system that define the individual as male or female, as determined by anatomy and genetics existing at the time of birth. See Tennessee Code 68-33-102
• State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105