Idaho’s parental consent law prohibits minors from accessing rape kit exams without parents

BOISE (Idaho Reports) — A parental rights bill intended to prohibit medical procedures on minors without parental consent could also end up unintentionally protecting sexual predators who abuse children.

The new law, which went into effect July 1, prohibits minors from getting sexual assault exams, or rape kit exams, without parental consent. This becomes problematic if the perpetrator of the child’s sexual assault is a parent, family member, or close family friend, according to Deb Wetherelt, Idaho State Police sexual assault nurse coordinator.

Senate bill 1329 passed during the 2024 legislative session on a party-line vote in both chambers. Proponents of the bill argued that parents should be involved in their children’s medical care. The bill allows for medical care without parental consent only if it’s “in order to prevent death or imminent, irreparable physical injury.”

Gov. Brad Little signed the bill in March, but issued a transmittal letter citing concerns about access to behavioral health and conflicting sections of code.

Wetherelt told Idaho Reports that prior to the law going into effect, any person 14 years or older could give informed consent for the exam.

Sexual assault kits, commonly called rape kits, are exams done by trained nurse examiners after an assault’s occurred. The exam involves combing and swabbing the victim’s body for DNA evidence and photographing injuries, and can take about four to six hours to complete. The exam’s evidence can assist in both confirming a suspect and ruling out suspects in the assault.

According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, an estimated 93 percent of child sexual abuse perpetrators know their victims, and 34 percent are family members.

Wetherelt hopes that in these situations, a parent would bring the child in and consent to the exam. But that hasn’t always been her experience. She offered the example of a child claiming a stepparent or their mother’s boyfriend had abused them.

“So, what I’m going to do as a nurse, if a child comes in and says, ‘My stepdad did this to me,’ and mom says ‘she’s a liar, she’s been nothing but a liar since she’s 8 years old, this is not true. He would never do that.’ And I will tell you that happens all too often as well,” she said.

That doesn’t mean the state can’t intervene. “At that point, I’m calling law enforcement who will also initiate a call to CPS to do an assessment,” Wetherelt said.

But child protective services assessments take time. The forensic lab will take evidence up to five days after the alleged abuse occurred. If the child reports the abuse two days after it happens, that limits the SANE nurse’s time to get an agreement in place to do the exam, Wetherelt explained. Even after five days, once CPS or the court grants permission, a SANE nurse can look for injuries and test the child for sexually transmitted infections or pregnancy, but by that point, most, if not all, DNA evidence will be gone.

“The bigger piece of that, and for these children especially, is that emotional and mental wellbeing,” she said. “What’s going to happen to that kiddo when she goes home? Mom calls her a liar, and says ‘Now you’ve got the cops involved. Now CPS is coming to the house. Are you happy?’ Now, those are the things I worry about.”

The lead sponsor of the bill, Senate Majority Leader Kelly Anthon, R-Burley, said in an Aug. 2 email to Idaho Reports that this was not the intent of the bill.

“It was certainly not the intent of the law to limit police investigation of these kinds of crimes,” wrote Anthon. “I will be happy to look at the language of the statue to see if a change is needed. To my knowledge, no one from the Idaho State Police has contacted me on this matter.”

Anthon said he planned to reach out to ISP.

Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, voted against the bill. She did not know if sponsors were aware of this effect when they proposed the bill’s introduction.

“I was begging people to not pass that bill because not all parents have the best intentions in mind,” Wintrow told Idaho Reports. “You have to have an escape hatch for youth and their health.”

Wintrow said she had concerns that those who brought the legislation didn’t speak with stakeholders thoroughly.

“It is our responsibility to see how it will impact everyone,” Wintrow said about proposed legislation. “In committee, I didn’t see any stakeholders support it.”

Idaho Reports reached out to the governor’s office multiple times for comment and did not receive a response by Monday afternoon.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted and is in crisis, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673).