As our country faces countless threats to our liberties, one of our greatest American priorities must be the preservation of family freedoms. Freedom is a generational blessing, and unless we preserve our right to a relationship with our children, freedom cannot be passed on. Parents are ultimately responsible for the care and well-being of their children. And social science tells us that, generally, children are safer and happier within a traditional family with a mom and a dad.
One common example of parental rights being undermined often occurs during visits to the pediatrician’s office for an annual physical. A number of parents have contacted MFI over the years with horror stories about their young, adolescent children being asked all kinds of inappropriate, confusing, and offensive questions about sexual activity, domestic violence, and drug use… AFTER the parent is asked to leave the room.
Unfortunately, this is part of a well-documented effort to cut parents out of their children’s healthcare decisions regarding certain behaviors because parents are seen as an obstacle to a teenager’s “right to comprehensive health care.” I encourage you to download the one page MFI brief on parental rights in the doctor’s office here, but the bottom line is: you don’t have to leave your child alone in the exam room. If you do, much of what is discusses (or even the drugs or other treatments prescribed) can become “confidential,” and you forfeit your right to even know about them!
Parents should find a pediatrician they can trust to keep them involved in all aspects of their child’s healthcare, and it’s a good idea to talk with your child first about what to expect from the annual exam before getting to the doctor’s office.
Read our blog post about the MA flu vaccine mandate for daycares and schools and read the MA law regarding religious and medical exemptions. Refer to this sample exemption form from Chelmsford Public Schools.
