Tennessee House Bill HB0853

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/4/25
• Refer: 2/6/25
• Refer: 3/18/26
• Refer: 3/24/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 33; Title 36; Title 37; Title 49; Title 63 and Title 68, relative to healthcare treatment of minors.

Summary

HB0853 revises Tennessee law governing healthcare treatment of unemancipated minors, with a strong focus on parental access and parental consent. The bill expands a parent’s, legal guardian’s, or legal custodian’s right to access a child’s mental health, medical, rehabilitation, and prescription records, including records tied to treatment that minors can receive without parental consent under existing law. It also broadens access for persons with medical decision-making authority and requires healthcare providers and facilities to provide those records. The bill further defines “medical procedure” and “medical treatment” broadly, and it generally prohibits healthcare providers from giving vaccinations or performing medical treatment on a minor without informed consent from a parent or legal guardian. It preserves an exception for emergency medical treatment by licensed physicians under existing emergency-care law. In addition, it clarifies that school employees may provide basic first aid measures such as bleeding control, bandages, gauze, and ice packs without crossing into prohibited medical treatment.

Impact

If enacted, the bill would amend multiple sections of Tennessee Code Annotated across health, family, education, and professional practice statutes. It would strengthen parental control over minors’ healthcare records and treatment decisions, narrow the practical scope of confidential treatment for minors, and impose a clearer consent requirement for most vaccinations and medical treatment. It also creates a statutory definition of medical treatment that could affect how providers, facilities, and schools interpret what actions require parental consent versus what counts as permissible basic care or emergency treatment.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests the bill had meaningful support but also notable opposition. It passed the House Health Subcommittee 5-2 and the House Health Committee 11-7, indicating a favorable majority but not broad consensus. The committee recommendations for passage, including amendment and referral to Calendar & Rules, suggest the bill was viewed as viable, while the split votes indicate the issue was politically and policy-wise sensitive.

Contention

The main point of contention is the balance between parental rights and minor confidentiality/autonomy in healthcare. Supporters appear to favor giving parents broader access to records and requiring parental informed consent before treatment or vaccination, while opponents likely object to limiting minors’ access to confidential care, especially for services historically available without parental consent. The bill’s inclusion of treatment categories such as mental health care, reproductive-related services referenced by cross-cited statutes, and vaccinations likely heightens concern among critics about reduced access to care and privacy for minors.