A committee in the Texas Senate is considering legislation aimed at ensuring parents receive full and informed consent before their children are vaccinated.
Senate Bill 95, authored by State Sen. Bob Hall (R–Edgewood), seeks to codify federal requirements into Texas law and hold healthcare providers accountable if they fail to properly inform parents about the risks and benefits of immunizations.
At the heart of the legislation is the principle that informed consent is a fundamental right. Supporters argue that SB 95 is not an anti-vaccine measure, but rather a pro-transparency bill that would align state law with existing federal guidelines, which already require vaccine providers to disclose potential side effects and risks to parents.
Michelle Evans, political director of Texans for Vaccine Choice, testified in support of the bill, emphasizing the need for greater transparency in the vaccine consent process.
“Informed consent is a fundamental human right and a necessary tenant to the ethical provision of medical care,” Evans told the Senate State Affairs Committee this week. “Most parents are rushed through the process of immunizing their children, with nurses and pediatricians behaving as though consent is assumed.”
Evans pointed out that current Texas law places the burden on parents to ask the right questions rather than requiring healthcare providers to proactively provide critical vaccine information. While federal law mandates the distribution of a Vaccine Information Statement, she noted that it often lacks detailed information on vaccine ingredients and potential adverse reactions.
The legislation would require providers to not only obtain written informed consent from parents but also supply them with the CDC’s Vaccine Excipient Summary, which details all ingredients used in a vaccine’s development.
SB 95 allows for civil liability if a healthcare provider administers a vaccine without obtaining informed consent. Under the bill, if a child suffers an adverse reaction, the provider could be liable for at least $5,000 in damages, with a proposed cap of $10,000 in an upcoming committee substitute.
Dawn Richardson, director of advocacy for the National Vaccine Information Center, testified that this penalty is necessary because there are currently no consequences for providers who fail to follow informed consent requirements.
“Federal law requires these Vaccine Information Statements to be given, but the problem is there are no penalties for not doing so,” Richardson said. “What this bill would do is give providers an incentive to actually do what federal law says.”
Throughout the hearing, Hall stressed that SB 95 is not about discouraging vaccines. Instead, he said the bill simply ensures that parents have the same informed consent protections for vaccines as they do for any other medical procedure.
SB 95 was left pending in committee, with a substituted version expected to be introduced in the coming days.
