To enact section 3792.02 of the Revised Code to authorize a pregnant minor to consent to receive health care to maintain the life or improve the health of herself or the unborn child she is carrying.
SB 440 would create a new section of the Ohio Revised Code allowing a pregnant minor to consent on her own to certain health care related to pregnancy, delivery, and immediate post-delivery recovery. The bill defines the covered care narrowly as treatment or services intended to maintain the life or improve the health of the pregnant minor or the unborn child she is carrying, and it expressly includes prenatal care, labor and delivery care, post-delivery recovery care before hospital discharge, and family planning services.
The bill also provides that this consent cannot be undone because the patient is a minor, and no additional consent is required from a spouse, parent, guardian, person acting in loco parentis, or the putative father. At the same time, the bill requires the provider to ask the minor at the initial prenatal visit for permission to contact a spouse or parent/guardian to obtain medical information that may help with care, and it allows providers to share treatment-related information with those individuals for medical reasons, while limiting disclosure of the minor’s medical history. It also states that parents or guardians are not financially liable for the cost of the treatment provided under the section, and it preserves mandatory child abuse and neglect reporting duties.
In practical terms, the bill would change Ohio law by creating an explicit statutory exception to the general rule that minors cannot independently consent to medical treatment. It would affect health care facilities, physicians, and other providers treating pregnant minors, as well as parents and guardians who would no longer have a legal consent role for the covered services. It would also clarify that the minor’s family members are not responsible for the costs of the care provided under this section.
The available context shows no recorded committee testimony or votes, so there is no documented public debate attached to the bill in the provided materials. Based on the bill text, the measure appears to be framed as a health-care access and maternal-fetal health proposal, with an emphasis on allowing timely prenatal and delivery-related care for minors while preserving some family involvement and mandatory reporting safeguards.
The main points of potential contention are likely to be parental consent and family authority versus a minor’s ability to access pregnancy-related care independently. The bill’s inclusion of family planning services and its limitation on parental access to the minor’s medical history could also draw concern from those favoring broader parental notification or involvement, while supporters would likely view the measure as improving access to necessary care and reducing barriers for pregnant minors.
SB 440 would add a new statutory provision to Ohio law authorizing pregnant minors to consent to specified pregnancy-related health care without parental, spousal, guardian, or putative father approval. It would also impose a provider duty to seek permission to contact family members for helpful medical information, limit disclosure of the minor’s medical history, exempt parents and guardians from liability for treatment costs under the section, and preserve child abuse and neglect reporting obligations.
The provided record contains no committee transcript or vote history, so there is no documented formal sentiment from lawmakers in the materials. From the bill’s structure, the measure appears generally supportive of access to prenatal and delivery care for minors, while also trying to balance that access with some family communication and child-protection safeguards.
The likely contention centers on whether a pregnant minor should be able to consent to care independently and how much role parents or guardians should retain. Opponents may object to bypassing parental consent and to the inclusion of family planning services, while supporters are likely to emphasize timely access to medically necessary pregnancy-related care and the bill’s limited scope. Privacy concerns over disclosure of medical information, and the bill’s restriction on family members’ financial liability, may also be debated.