In a bold move that would grant protection to intoxicated minors, an Arizona state legislator has sponsored a bill that would give them access to medical help in case of an emergency without fear of citation or arrest.
Senate Bill 1190, sponsored by Sen. Kelli Ward, R-Lake Havasu City, would protect intoxicated minors from criminal prosecution so long as they call for medical assistance, either for themselves or another intoxicated minor.
Ward said this bill was written in response to the deaths of adolescents connected to a lack of medical intervention.
“We have seen deaths brought on by people being afraid to call for help for someone in need because they were afraid of getting in trouble themselves,” Ward said in an email. “I also want to prevent someone from being afraid to call for help for themselves because of that same fear.”
Tempe Undergraduate Student Government President Cassidy Possehl has made this bill one of her priorities since speaking out about it last year.
“I spoke about the bill in my address to (the Arizona Board of Regents) a year ago as a piece of student interest and then have been interacting with it since as a priority of mine,” Possehl said in an email.
In a press release addressing Tempe USG’s support of SB 1190, Possehl said intoxicated minors are more reluctant to call for medical assistance because of the legal drinking age.
“Research supports the fact that while the 21-year-old drinking limit does not deter many young people from drinking, it does contribute to a dangerous, sometimes fatal hesitation when deciding whether or not to call 911 for themselves or someone else who is in need of immediate emergency assistance," Possehl said in her press release.
Possehl said most intoxicated minors are fearful of attaining a minor in consumption or minor in possession charge, which inhibits their willingness to call for medical assistance when it is needed.
“The tragedy is that some of those friends never wake up and pay for their friends’ hesitation with their life,” Possehl said in her press release. “This bill will remedy those fears and make sure that calls for emergency assistance are always made.”
In 2013, a 19-year-old fraternity member was found at Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital with a Post-it note attached to him asking for help. The student had a blood alcohol level of .47.
Aaron Letzeiser, executive director and founder of the Medical Amnesty Initiative, has been dedicated to working toward the integration of medical amnesty laws across the nation.
Letzeiser said medical amnesty bills would not encourage adolescents to drink to excess and rely on medical amnesty as a safety blanket due to the steep costs of securing medical assistance.
“We don’t believe that when an inebriated young person is faced with leaving a ‘party’ they will choose to call 911 for an ambulance and hospital visit (and all costs associated with it) instead of calling a cab or friend to take them back to their house, apartment or dorm,” Letzeiser said in an email.
Letzeiser said young people fear underage drinking citations only when faced with an impending police presence and would get themselves to a safe location when police are absent.
Ward said this bill could protect minors from obtaining a criminal record, which could potentially harm their future.
“This bill has the potential to save lives by getting help to those in need and to save futures by preventing good Samaritans from being charged with a crime, ticketed and getting a record,” Ward said.
The bill will discussed in state Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 19. If it passes committee, it would continue on to the Senate then to the House. If all departments were to pass it in the affirmative, the bill would become a law.
If SB 1190 were to pass in legislation, Arizona would join 22 other states, as well Washington, D.C., to put a medical amnesty law into practice.
Reach the reporter at Jlsuerth@asu.edu or follow @SuerthJessica on Twitter.
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