What is a judicial bypass?

Every person, no matter how old they are, has the legal right to get an abortion in the United States.

Right now, there are thirty-eight states in the U.S. with laws that require someone under 18 (in some cases under 17, 16, or 15) to involve a parent or legal guardian in their decision to have an abortion. Involvement can mean requiring that someone under 18 tell their parent about the abortion, or get their parent’s permission to have an abortion. These are known as parental involvement laws.

Not everyone can or wants to involve a parent in their abortion decision. If you cannot or do not want to involve your parent or guardian, or if they will not give you permission, you can go to court and ask a judge to allow you to get an abortion without having to involve your parent or guardian.

If you cannot or do not want to involve a parent in your abortion, another option is a judicial bypass (sometimes called a judicial waiver).

A judicial bypass means asking a judge to give you permission to get an abortion without involving a parent or legal guardian. This usually involves going to a court to fill out forms before setting up a meeting to talk to the judge.

If you get a judicial bypass from court, you do not need to tell or get permission from your parent before getting an abortion.

Check out our state directory to learn about the judicial bypass process in your state is: State Directory.