(a) The general assembly finds and declares the following:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 63-1-165

  • Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • 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.
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • 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.
  • Minor: means any person who has not attained eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • 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
  • 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
  • Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 (42 U.S.C. § 300aa-26) requires, prior to the administration of a vaccine listed in the vaccine injury table to a minor, that healthcare providers provide the vaccine information statement from the centers for disease control and prevention to the legal representatives of the minor;
(2) The Tennessee supreme court’s decision in Cardwell v. Bechtol, 724 S.W.2d 739 (1987), found that the mature minor exception, guided by the “Rule of Sevens,” is part of Tennessee common law, but only in the context of tort law and jury considerations, and not the general rule requiring parental consent for the medical treatment of minors;
(3) The Cardwell court stated, “Adoption of the mature minor exception to the common law rule is by no means a general license to treat minors without parental consent and its application is dependent on the facts of each case. It must be seen in the context of the tort in question.”;
(4) Despite its holding in the case, the Cardwell court declined to alter the general rule, which is “requiring parental consent for the medical treatment of minors”;
(5) In its opinion in the case of Parham v. J.R., 442 U.S. 584 (1979), the United States supreme court wrote, “Simply because the decision of a parent is not agreeable to a child, or because it involves risks, does not automatically transfer the power to make that decision from the parents to some agency or officer of the state. The same characterizations can be made for a tonsillectomy, appendectomy, or other medical procedure. Most children, even in adolescence, simply are not able to make sound judgments concerning many decisions, including their need for medical care or treatment. Parents can and must make those judgments.”; and
(6) In the case of Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000), Justice O’Connor wrote for the United States supreme court, “The Fourteenth Amendment‘s Due Process Clause has a substantive component that ‘provides heightened protection against government interference with certain fundamental rights and liberty interests,’ Washington v. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. 702, 720, including parents’ fundamental right to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of their children”.
(b) As used in this section:

(1) “Department” means the department of health;
(2) “Healthcare provider” means a healthcare professional, healthcare establishment, or healthcare facility licensed, registered, certified, or permitted pursuant to this title or title 68 or regulated under the authority of either the department of health or an agency, board, council, or committee attached to the department of health, and that is authorized to administer vaccinations in this state;
(3) “Minor”:

(A) Means an individual who has not attained eighteen (18) years of age; and
(B) Does not include an individual who:

(i) Is emancipated pursuant to title 29, chapter 31;
(ii) Is in need of emergency treatment pursuant to § 63-6-222;
(iii) Is or was previously a member of the armed forces of the United States, or a member of a reserve or national guard unit; or
(iv) Is the parent of a minor child and has full custody of that minor child;
(4) “Vaccination” means the act of introducing a vaccine into the body; and
(5) “Vaccine” means a substance intended for use in humans to stimulate the body’s immune response against an infectious disease or pathogen.
(c)

(1) A healthcare provider shall not provide a vaccination to a minor unless the healthcare provider first receives informed consent from a parent or legal guardian of the minor. The healthcare provider shall document receipt of, and include in the minor’s medical record proof of, such prior parental or guardian informed consent.
(2) An employee or agent of this state shall not provide, request, or facilitate the vaccination of a minor child who is in the custody of this state, except:

(A) Upon written request to, and court order from, the appropriate court;
(B) If a parent or legal guardian of the minor has provided prior written informed consent to the vaccination; or
(C) If the parental rights of each of the minor’s parents or legal guardians have been terminated by a court, and all opportunities for appeal have been exhausted.
(3) A violation of this section is an unlawful practice and is grounds for the offending healthcare provider’s licensing authority to suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew the healthcare provider’s license or take other disciplinary action allowed by law.
(4) If the licensing authority of a healthcare provider receives information of a violation or potential violation of this section by the healthcare provider, then the licensing authority shall conduct an immediate investigation and take appropriate disciplinary action.
(d) To the extent this section conflicts with another law, this section controls.
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