Minors’ Access to Abortion Care

November 24, 2025

This fact sheet was written by Kimya Forouzan. It was edited by Ian Lague.

Parental involvement in a minor’s decision to have an abortion is required in most US states, a set of laws that can substantially restrict minors’ access to care. These states typically require the consent or notification of only one parent, usually 24 or 48 hours before the abortion, but a handful of states require the involvement of both parents. Some states require the minor and a parent to provide government-issued identification to the abortion provider. In several other states, the parent must also provide proof of parenthood or submit a notarized form to the provider. Several states allow other adults to fulfill the parental involvement requirement or allow the health care provider to waive the requirement, though some states allow this only under specified circumstances.

Most state parental involvement requirements include a judicial bypass procedure that allows a minor to receive court approval for an abortion without their parents’ knowledge or consent, in accordance with US Supreme Court decision Bellotti v. Baird. Some states require judges to use specific criteria when determining whether to grant a waiver of parental involvement. This sometimes involves the unusually strict legal standard of “clear and convincing evidence” to determine whether a minor is sufficiently mature and the abortion is in their best interest prior to waiving the parental involvement requirement. Additionally, most states allow for exceptions to parental involvement requirements in case of medical emergency and some include either an exception, or a basis for judicial bypass, if a minor is determined to have experienced abuse, assault, incest or neglect. Finally, all 12 states that ban abortion retain parental involvement laws, although these policies are generally not enforced unless an abortion is being provided under an exception to the ban.

Highlights

38 states require parental involvement in a minor’s decision to have an abortion (Table 1).

21 states require only parental consent.
10 states require only parental notification.
7 states require both parental notification and consent.
11 states permit another adult to fulfill and/or waive consent or notification requirements.

38 of the states requiring parental involvement offer exceptions to the requirement or judicial bypass procedures (Table 2).

37 states have judicial bypass procedures that allow a court to provide approval for a minor’s abortion.
35 of the states with judicial bypass require a determination that the minor is "mature" and/or "well-informed enough," or that the abortion is in the minor's best interest in order to grant the bypass.
17 states require judges to use the “clear and convincing evidence” standard to establish these determinations about minors' capacity and best interests.
37 states include an exception for medical emergencies to their parental notification or consent requirements.
16 states include either an exception, or a basis for judicial bypass, if a minor is determined to have experienced abuse, assault, incest or neglect.

Current Policy Status Table

Table 1. Parental Involvement
Jurisdiction	Parent or guardian must		Other adult permitted to fulfill or waive the requirement	Parent must provide			Minor must provide identification
Jurisdiction	Provide consent	Be notified		Identification	Proof of parenthood	Notarized record of consent or notification	Minor must provide identification
Alabama (total ban)	X			X	X
Arizona	X					X
Arkansas (total ban)	X			X	X	X
Colorado		X	X (if minor is living with another relative, that relative can fulfill the notice requirement)
Delaware*		X	X (grandparent or licensed mental health professional can fulfill)
Florida	X	X		X		X
Georgia		X		X
Idaho (total ban)	X
Indiana (total ban)	X			X	X	X
Iowa		X	X (grandparent can fulfill if minor submits written reason as to why parents should not be notified)
Kansas	X (both parents or legal guardian)					X
Kentucky (total ban)	X			X	X	X	X
Louisiana (total ban)	X			X	X	X
Maine	X		X (any adult family member can fulfill the requirement, or the health care provider can waive the requirement)
Maryland		X	X (health care provider can waive under certain circumstances)
Massachusetts*	X
Michigan	X
Mississippi (total ban)	X (both parents or legal guardian)
Missouri	X	X (consenting parent required to notify any other custodial parents)
Montana*		X
Nebraska	X		X (in cases of abuse by a parent, a grandparent can provide consent)			X
Nevada		X
New Hampshire		X
North Carolina	X		X (a grandparent can provide consent if the minor has been living with them for at least six months)
North Dakota (total ban)	X (both parents or legal guardian)
Ohio	X
Oklahoma (total ban)	X	X		X	X	X	X
Pennsylvania	X		X (If parents and guardians are unavailable or deceased, a person standing in loco parentis can provide consent)
Rhode Island	X
South Carolina*	X		X (grandparent, person standing in loco parentis can fulfill requirement)
South Dakota (total ban)		X				X
Tennessee (total ban)	X				X
Texas (total ban)	X	X
Utah	X	X
Virginia	X	X	X (a person standing in loco parentis can fulfill the requirement)			X
West Virginia (total ban)		X
Wisconsin	X		X (adult family member can fulfill or health care provider can waive requirement in certain circumstances)
Wyoming^†	X	X
TOTAL (38)	28	17	11	8	7	11	2

*In Delaware, Massachusetts and Montana, the statutes apply only to minors who are younger than 16. In South Carolina, the statutes apply only to minors who are younger than 17.

^†While the Wyoming law mandating parental involvement was repealed, some providers may still require compliance with it due to litigation that challenged the repeal.

Table 2. Exceptions to Parental Involvement
Jurisdiction	Judicial bypass			Exceptions to parental involvement law
Jurisdiction	Available	Must establish that the minor is “mature” and/or “well-informed enough” or that the abortion is in the minor's best interest	“Clear and convincing” evidence standard	Medical emergency	Abuse, assault, incest, or neglect
Alabama (total ban)	X	X		X
Arizona	X	X	X	X	X
Arkansas (total ban)	X	X	X	X (physician must still notify parents within 24 hours)	X (court can grant judicial bypass on the basis of the minor having experienced abuse from parent(s) or guardian(s), but requirements for bypass not waived)
Colorado	X	X	X	X	X
Delaware*	X	X		X
Florida^§	X			X	X (court can grant judicial bypass on the basis of the minor having experienced abuse from parent(s) or guardian(s), but requirements for bypass not waived)
Georgia	X	X		X
Idaho (total ban)	X	X	X	X	X
Indiana (total ban)	X	X		X	X (only if the pregnancy is the result of rape by a parent, legal guardian, or custodian of the unemancipated minor)
Iowa	X	X		X	X
Kansas	X	X	X	X
Kentucky (total ban)	X	X	X	X (physician must still notify parents within 24 hours)	X (court can grant judicial bypass on the basis of the minor having experienced abuse from parent(s) or guardian(s), but requirements for bypass not waived)
Louisiana (total ban)	X	X	X	X
Maine	X	X		X (health care provider can waive consent requirement)	X (health care provider can waive consent requirement)
Maryland				X (not explicit, but health care provider can waive requirement under specific circumstances)	X
Massachusetts*	X	X		X
Michigan	X	X		X
Mississippi (total ban)	X	X	X	X
Missouri	X	X		X
Montana*	X	X		X	X (court can grant judicial bypass on the basis of the minor having experienced abuse from parent(s), guardian(s), or custodian(s) but requirements for bypass not waived)
Nebraska	X	X	X	X	X (minor can obtain consent from a grandparent or the court can grant judicial bypass on the basis of the minor having experienced abuse from parent(s) or guardian(s), but other requirements for bypass not waived)
Nevada	X	X		X
New Hampshire	X	X		X
North Carolina	X	X	X	X
North Dakota (total ban)	X	X	X	X
Ohio	X	X	X	X
Oklahoma (total ban)	X	X	X	X (physician must still notify parents within 24 hours)
Pennsylvania	X	X		X
Rhode Island	X	X		X
South Carolina*	X	X		X	X
South Dakota (total ban)	X	X	X	X (physician must still notify parents within 24 hours)
Tennessee (total ban)	X	X	X	X
Texas (total ban)	X	X	X	X (physician must still notify parents within 24 hours)
Utah^†	X	X		X	X (parental notification of abortion still required, if possible and unless abuse perpetrated by parent)
Virginia	X	X		X	X
West Virginia (total ban)	X	X		X (physician must still notify parents within 24 hours)
Wisconsin	X			X	X (requires minor to sign statement regarding abuse, unless it is perpetrated by a caregiver)
Wyoming^‡	X	X	X
TOTAL (38)	37	35	17	37	16

*In Delaware, Massachusetts and Montana, the statutes apply only to minors who are younger than 16. In South Carolina, the statutes apply only to minors who are younger than 17.

^†In Utah, the consent requirement can be waived for a medical emergency. However, the notice requirement can only be waived if care must be provided immediately as a result of the medical emergency. Otherwise, the health care provider must notify parent(s) or guardian(s) 24 hours, or as early as possible, prior to the abortion.

^‡While the Wyoming law mandating parental involvement was repealed, some providers may still require compliance with it due to litigation that challenged the repeal.

^§Florida's Fifth District Court of Appeal has issued a ruling in Doe v. Uthmeier invalidating the portions of Florida's law that permit judicial bypass. Under the decision, minors may still be able to access judicial bypass in cases of sexual violence and/or if their parents or guardians are deemed to be unfit.