Physicians for Informed Consent Opposes SB 866

March 22, 2022

Re: SB 866 (minors obtain vaccination without parental knowledge or consent)
Position: Oppose

Dear California Legislators,

On behalf of hundreds of physician and surgeon members of Physicians for Informed Consent and thousands of our health-freedom members, we oppose SB 866.

SB 866¹ proposes both immoral and illegal actions by allowing children 12 years of age and older to, without parental consent or knowledge, become injected with any vaccines that meet “federal agency criteria.” First, this would steal from parents their rights and responsibilities to make medical decisions for their children and expect doctors to lie to parents about the vaccination status of their minor children. This situation would then put children in potential danger should something go wrong. As exemplified by the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 (NCVIA),² sometimes serious vaccine injuries do occur and over $4.75 billion³ in compensations have been awarded for vaccine injury complaints which were filed within the three years of injury or two years of death statute of limitations. Furthermore, only a parent or legal guardian is legally able to petition for compensation for a minor’s vaccine injury,⁴ and this would be thwarted if SB 866 passes. Although the COVID-19 vaccines are not protected by the NCVIA because they are not yet licensed and are only authorized for emergency use in children, this is a distinction whose repercussions are complicated and may not be clear even to adults.

Finally, physicians experienced in obtaining informed consent know that it is not possible for 12-year-old children as a group to understand the risks and benefits of vaccination, and California’s health education curriculum for public schools does not even mention vaccination until high school.⁵

We urge you to oppose SB 866 as there is no evidence that its application would be safe for minors, it is immoral, and it is potentially illegal—a preliminary injunction (enclosed) was just granted by Judge Trevor N. McFadden against a similar bill that was passed in the District of Columbia.⁶

Respectfully,

Shira Miller, M.D.
Founder and President
Physicians for Informed Consent

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB866
https://www.hrsa.gov/vaccine-compensation/about/index.html
https://www.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/hrsa/vaccine-compensation/data/vicp-stats-03-01-22.pdf
https://www.hrsa.gov/vaccine-compensation/eligible/index.html
https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/healthstandmar08.pdf
Booth v. Bowser, No. 21-cv-01857 (TNM), 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48877 (D.D.C. Mar. 18, 2022), Memorandum Opinion.

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About Physicians for Informed Consent
Physicians for Informed Consent is a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit organization focused on science and statistics. PIC delivers data on infectious diseases and vaccines, and unites doctors, scientists, healthcare professionals, attorneys, and families who support voluntary vaccination. In addition, the PIC Coalition for Informed Consent consists of over 300 U.S. and international organizations that represent millions of people. To learn more, please visit physiciansforinformedconsent.org.

SB 866 was placed in the Inactive File on August 31, 2022. Previously, SB 866 passed in the California Assembly on June 16,2022, and passed in the California Senate on Thursday, May 5, 2022.