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Cuomo Pushes To Let Teens To Get HIV Treatment Without Parents' Consent

A new proposal by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday aims to advance the battle against HIV by allowing teens with HIV to receive treatment without requiring parental consent. 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced that he will introduce legislation this session that will allow HIV-positive teens to receive treatment without parental notification.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced that he will introduce legislation this session that will allow HIV-positive teens to receive treatment without parental notification.

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The proposal, to be introduced this legislative session, adds HIV to the list of medical exceptions for minors in order to increase treatment for minors that may be affected with HIV – preventing infection and ultimately saving lives.

Under current state law, minors generally cannot consent to medical care. An exception was made decades ago for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, but HIV was not listed due lack of adequate treatments and frequently fatal outcomes. 

In 2013, there were 141 newly diagnosed HIV cases in New York state among 13- to 19-year-olds, and 951 people in this age group living with the virus. 

“We should not allow stigma or personal circumstances to prevent someone with HIV from receiving support,” said Cuomo. “This proposal helps ensure that teens living with HIV have access to the treatment they need, and it marks another critical step forward in our effort to end the epidemic. I am proud to stand up this vulnerable population, and I urge the legislature to join me by passing this proposal this year.”

The proposed legislation also includes the ability for HIV preventive services to be provided to minors. This is important as highly effective new approaches become available, such as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, or PrEP, which is a once-daily pill that protects individuals from HIV infection. 

Dr. Donna Futterman, professor of clinical pediatrics and director of the Adolescent AIDS Program at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx said: “As a pediatrician and the director of the Adolescent AIDS Program at Montefiore Medical Center, a program that has provided care to over 650 HIV-positive youths since 1989, I applaud the forward-thinking leadership Gov. Cuomo and the DOH are providing by calling for an end to laws that prevent minor youth from consenting to HIV treatment and prevention medications.”

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