Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill into law that permits children as young as 12 to reside in government-funded “residential shelter services” to undergo mental health treatment or counseling for their gender identity without parental consent or even being informed by doctors.
The bill, known as Assembly Bill 665, allows 12-year-olds to consent to such treatment if they are considered “mature enough to participate intelligently in the outpatient services or residential shelter services” and if they are the “alleged victim” of incest or child abuse who poses a risk to themselves or others – no proof of genuine harm is required.
The bill, signed by Newson over the weekend, further states that medical professionals must consult with the minor to determine “whether involvement of the minor’s parent or guardian would be inappropriate.”
California lawmakers justify this imposition into parental authority by claiming children identifying as LGBT often face parental rejection, harassment in school, or wider societal stigma, therefore, “obtaining parental consent for a youth who needs support is complicated by the parent or caretakers’ beliefs and stigma about mental health care.”
The law caused a stir among California’s GOP before it was even passed, with Senator Ochoa Bogh writing to Newsom last month to argue, “[b]y removing the requirement that a minor must experience extenuating circumstances to consent to mental health services on their own, we ignore the right of parents to make informed decisions regarding their child’s health.”
Newsom’s California has become increasingly radical on LGBT issues, recently implementing a law that requires all schools to have gender-neutral toilets by 2026 and threatening to fine schools up to $1.5 million for not teaching about gay pedophile and “LGBT rights activist” Harvey Milk.
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