A new Tennessee parental rights law could have unintended consequences in a state that already has seen rising cases of HIV and syphilis, and as the U.S. sees a spike in syphilis cases.
Tennessee’s law is part of a growing conservative movement to give parents more control over their children’s education and health care decisions, especially when it comes to gender and sexuality. Republicans in Congress have introduced similar legislation this year.
As recently as 2021, all states allowed minors of a certain age to consent to HIV and sexually transmitted disease testing without parental approval, according to an analysis published in the American Journal of Public Health.
