Young Idahoans seeking health care now need parental approval
If you’re 18 or younger in Idaho, a new state law says you can no longer get any kind of health care outside of emergency treatment without consent from a parent.
Before July first of this year, Idaho minors 14 and up, or those deemed able to comprehend the nature and risks of treatment, could consent to a range of health care services including treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, substance use disorder, mental health care and birth control.
Caitlin O’Brien is a lawyer at the Coeur d’ Alene-based law group Smith + Malek. She says now, doctors will have to turn away patients who don’t have a parent in their life.
“They might be living with a grandparent or an aunt and uncle or a neighbor or friend that doesn't — hasn't gone through the court system to be pointed to legal guardian," she said.
Matthew Lassen is one of the medical directors at the nonprofit CHAS Health. He says he worries for minors who aren’t able to get that consent, and their willingness to discuss sensitive topics if they end up diverted to an emergency room later on.
“I think care is always better provided when a patient has access to a provider that they have an established relationship with," he said.
O’Brien says the law is a particular concern for unhoused minors. Emancipated minors are exempt from the rule — BUT the state has no statutory process for emancipation.
Replanting huckleberries in charred parts of Idaho
New agreements are in the works between the U.S. Forest Service and Northwest tribes. The plan is to repopulate huckleberries in areas that have been severely damaged by wildfires.
For hundreds of years, Northwest tribes managed huckleberry growth on wild lands with controlled burns.
“The burns were able to get down to weeds and grass. It was able to push back wild rose, our willows and all the other natural resources that encroach also to keep the canopy under control," said Winex Red Elk, an outreach specialsist for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
Subsequent Forest Service management to control fires has complicated how indigenous tribes managed the land, she said.
The agency is setting up agreements with multiple tribes to collect and store huckleberry seeds for genetic conservation and there are plans to use indigenous knowledge to repopulate huckleberries for future generations.
Meanwhile, do fires — and their smoke — harm the food you grow?
Gardeners around the Inland Northwest may be asking, "How does smoke from wildfires affect what I'm growing in my garden?"
Glenda Hyde with Oregon State University Extension says she gets a lot of questions about how smoke affects fruits and vegetables that are still in the ground, on a vine or in a tree.
Hyde says her office has researched this since the 2020 wildfires. If plants are not covered with ash, they should be safe to eat.
“If you can still see the color of your fruit, it’s safe to eat or safe to process, okay. If it’s completely covered with ash, the photosynthesis is disrupted and it actually makes it toxic, makes the fruit toxic, so you don’t want to eat those,” she said.
Hyde says it’s important to pre-wash produce to remove any ash before bringing it indoors. She says it’s also good to remove outer clothing before coming inside when you’re in smoky air.
She says Oregon State Extension has a publication called “Food to Fight Wildfires” to bolster your health during poor air quality.
Reporting provided by Rachel Sun, Lauren Paterson, and Rachael McDonald.