By Ruth Brown, Idaho Reports 

The Senate State Affairs Committee on Wednesday introduced a bill to amend the Idaho Parental Rights Act, which passed in 2024, after the original law left some health care providers with concerns that juveniles couldn’t receive rape kit examinations without parental permission. 

“It was recognized that there are many issues with the bill and the law that need to be fine-tuned, and this is a piece of legislation that hopefully takes care of those issues,” Senate President Pro Tempore Kelly Anthon, R-Rupert, told the committee  

Anthon, a co-sponsor of the original 2024 bill, told Idaho Reports he does intend for the legislation to go through both chambers, despite the late timing in the legislative session.  

The bill introduced Wednesday changes several aspects of the current Parental Rights Act, including a section that states if minor seeking health care or medical treatment directly related “to an allegation of a crime committed against the minor child or to collect evidence related to such crime” the health care provider or governmental entity is allowed to provide services without parental permission.   

S 1329, the Idaho Parental Rights Act, passed last year and was intended to grant parents the right to make decisions over their children’s health care. The bill prohibited children from receiving medical care, except in emergency situations, without parental consent. 

Anthon told Idaho Reports on Feb. 20 that he planned to amend the bill this session, and that he never intended to interfere in needed forensic examinations.  

Other changes to the bill allow juveniles to access services of the Idaho crisis and suicide hotline or services to help those who are experiencing mental health crisis and present “imminent risk of serious injury to self or others.” 

The new bill also allows first aid-related care in cases of minor injuries and illnesses, after some public school districts raised concerns in 2024. Additionally, the new bill states that if a juvenile is pregnant or has a child, health care providers may provide treatment without parental consent. Heath care providers could also diagnose pregnancy and provide prenatal or peripartum care, as long as the care complied with Idaho’s laws banning abortion, without parental consent.  

All of the 2024 original language about parents’ rights to know in medical decision-making are still in the bill.   

THE PROBLEM

Amanda Cook told Idaho Reports in February that she can think of a handful of cases where a teenager walked into the emergency room, in need of a forensic exam after a sexual assault, and staff could not help them because of law that passed in 2024. Cook is the forensic nurse examiner program director at the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault in Idaho Falls, which preforms forensic exams, or sexual assault exams, in Southeast Idaho.  

For Cook, the existing law presents a problem if a parent does not agree to allow a child to undergo a sexual assault exam, commonly called a rape kit. The exam can take up to six hours and involves speaking to the victim, documenting any injuries and searching the body for DNA evidence, such as semen, blood or saliva, after an assault has recently occurred.  

The evidence needs to be collected within five days of the assault, and victims are often tempted to shower immediately after a sexual assault, compromising and potentially washing away some evidence.  

While Cook hopes that most parents would consent to the exam, it hasn’t always been her experience that they do. She offered an example of a teenager who came in and said her stepfather had abused her, and the mother did not take her side. 

“So thank goodness she was able to get the DNA evidence,” Cook said of that case.  

Since S1329 went into effect on July 1, Cook could think of “a handful of cases” where parental consent was an issue. Those were scenarios where recently assaulted girls came into the ER, but health care workers couldn’t reach a parent.  

“Sometimes if mom’s incarcerated, that sets back the time (to gather evidence),” Cook said. 

Other times, parents just don’t believe their child, so they won’t consent. 

While a judge can issue a warrant for a rape kit with a signature, Cook said it often takes up to 24 hours. That means the victim involved may be asked to leave the health care center and not bathe to preserve evidence, which is essentially his or her entire body, until a warrant is available.  

Prior to the law’s passage last year, Cook explained they always tried to contact a parent if a child had been abused, though children 14 or older could consent for themselves. Regardless, if the child accuses the parent of abuse, then health care workers contact child protective services. But again, that’s a process that takes time when collecting evidence needs to happen as soon as possible.  

“What if we want to refer them to mental health? We are the gatekeepers to get them to those resources,” said Cook about the role of forensic exam nurses. “This is making kids suffer in silence.” 

Cook argued that allowing teenagers to consent to the exams helps both the judicial system and the child’s personal well-being. 

One in five women in the United States experienced completed or attempted rape during their lifetime. Of those, one in three female victims of completed or attempted rape experienced it for the first time between the ages of 11 and 17. For boys, one in four male victims of completed or attempted rape first experienced it between the ages of 11 and 17, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.  

“Imagine if that was your family member,” Cook said. 

Anthon maintains the bill’s intent was never to create barriers. 

“Sometimes you bring a bill that is meant to generally deal with concerns your constituents bring to you, and you know it may need some work on the backside,” Anthon told Idaho Reports in February when asked about the issue.  

He said he met with multiple stakeholders on the issue, as well as Democratic colleagues. 

“There is nothing I would ever do in my work as a legislator to shield the perpetrators of these acts,” Anthon said. “We’ll do whatever we can to make sure this works.” 

It’s not yet clear when the bill will get its first hearing.  

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