The Oregon House approved a bill Tuesday that would require mental health providers to inform parents or guardians when their teens are expressing suicidal thoughts.
The measure was brought on behalf of the parents of a teen who died by suicide in 2018. They testified that no one had told them their daughter had previously attempted suicide, even though it was in her medical records.
Their story resonated with lawmakers like Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis, R-Albany. “I’m a mom of three teenage daughters, and I would want to know," she said.
House Bill 3139 makes exceptions for cases where telling the parents could put the teen in further danger. Still, Rep. Marty Wilde, D-Eugene, said lawmakers were overstepping their authority. “The legislature should not seek to override a medical practitioner’s judgement in this case,” he said.
Wilde was the only House member to vote against the bill, which now heads to the Oregon Senate.
