Medical community wants teen tanning ban to move forward
Springfield's Medical Community is trying to gather support to dislodge a proposed tanning ban from a city council committee. The ordinance would ban minors from using commercial tanning beds, even with parental consent.
Opponents claim it's not the government's job to tell parents how to raise their kids, but SIU School of Medicine dermatologist Judy Knox says it IS... when it comes to safety issues.
Knox says, "We make decisions for parents - we tell them their children have to wear seatbelts. We tell parents 'you can't write a note for your child to have a drink in a bar' because that's what our society does. We protect our children."
Aldermen sponsoring the ordinance say it could come up for a vote during next week's city council meeting. It was debated for several hours at meetings last month but was pulled due to lack of support.
