Delaware

No matter their age, every person in Delaware has the legal right to get an abortion. But the state restricts abortions in some ways. In Delaware, all abortions must be performed before 20 weeks unless the patient’s life or health is endangered. 

In order for someone under age 16 to have an abortion in Delaware, a parent or {{legal guardian}{A legal guardian has a court order stating that they have the legal authority and duty to care for a minor. This is different from a foster parent}} must be told about the abortion at least 24 hours in advance of having it. This is called parental notification. This only means that the doctor must try to tell the parent/guardian about the abortion. It does not mean you need their permission to get an abortion.

At least 24 hours before they provide the abortion, a doctor has to give {{actual notice}{The doctor has to give notice in a way that makes sure the person actually received it}} to either:

1. One or both of your parents (whether they have custody of you or not) or
2. Your {{legal guardian}{A legal guardian has a court order stating that they have the legal authority and duty to care for a minor. This is different from a foster parent}} or
3. One of your grandparents or
4. A {{licensed mental health professional}{can be a Psychiatrist, Psychologist; or other licensed professional counselor of mental health like a clinical social worker. If you are working with one of these people and you are comfortable you can talk to them about whether they can waive the notice requirement for you}} (that does not work for the abortion clinic).

If you ask the clinic to tell a grandparent or a mental health professional instead of your parent, that person will have to explain why they think it is best for you not to involve your parent. This is called a {{waiver}{For the waiver, your grandparent or a licensed mental health professional need to confirm that they talked to you about all your options related to the pregnancy and say they think it is best for you to not have to involve your parent or legal guardian}} of the parental notice.

In Delaware, only the people listed above can consent or waive parental notice. Even if a supportive adult or foster parent supports your decision, they cannot give consent for you to have an abortion. This means that you will either need to ask your legal parent for their consent, or you can ask a supportive adult to help you get a judicial waiver.

If you are married or an {{emancipated}{An emancipated minor went through a legal process and has court order stating that they are freed from their parents and are legally an adult}} minor, you can get an abortion without telling a parent or getting a judicial waiver. 

Not everyone can involve their parent in their decision to have an abortion. If you cannot or choose not to talk to your parent, there is another option called a judicial waiver. A judicial waiver means asking a judge to allow you to get an abortion without telling your parent. 

This is a legal process that a lawyer can help you with. You do not need a lawyer, but you can have a lawyer for free if you want one. All you need to do is ask the court for one. Your lawyer’s job is to represent you in court. That means they are there to help you ask for what you want. Even if the lawyer was given to you by the court, it is your lawyer’s job to help you ask the court for what you want.

If you already know which clinic you would like to go to, start by contacting them.

If you do not know which clinic you want to go to, here is a list of clinics. You can also visit the Planned Parenthood website here to find a clinic near you. You also can go to a clinic outside of the state you live in.

When you call the clinic, tell them that you are a minor and need help with a judicial waiver. Clinics can also tell you more about the process and answer your questions.

You will need to write out a letter, get it {{notarized}{Notarized means that a document was certified as true by an official with a special license called a notary public}}, and send it to a court.

You can find the form here under “Affidavit and Application for Waiver of Notice of Abortion,” you need to write out these things:

1. Your name and the address where you live
2. A mailing address where the Court can send you its order and a telephone number where they can leave a message for you
3. List each person (parent/parents, legal guardian, grandparent) that you want notice to be waived for
4. You need to tell the court why you are {{mature and well-informed}{why you can and should be able to make the decision to get an abortion without talking to your parent first}} enough to make your own decision about abortion and/or that it is in your {{best interest}{why it would be better for you not to talk to your parents about your abortion}}.
   1. It is important to talk to your lawyer. Your lawyer will have a lot of useful information and advice for you about talking to the judge.
   2. Some things you can include are work experience, if you have lived away from your parents, if you have traveled by yourself, if you have your own money and know what a budget is, and whether you have made other big decisions in your life on your own. You can also talk about what happened since you found out you were pregnant, what you think will happen if you don’t have an abortion, and what you did to decide you do want an abortion. 

After you are done writing this out you need to sign the form. After you sign the form, you will have to get it notarized, meaning having an official called a notary public certify your form. 

To get the letter notarized, you will need a valid form of identification, like a state-issued identification card, state-issued driver’s license, or passport. You can also ask the clinic if they have a letter that you can use, and if they have someone at the clinic who can notarize the letter for you. The {{clerk}{A clerk is someone who works for the court, they are the ones that usually accept forms and schedule meetings with the judge}} at the Family Court may also be able to notarize for you when you turn in your application.

You can give the court your forms in person or you can send them in the mail.

You can find family court locations and contact information in Delaware here.

Once you turn in your application to the Court, the judge has 5 days (including weekends and holidays) to make a decision based on what you wrote.

Based on your application form, the judge decides whether they think you are {{mature and well-informed}{the judge thinks you can make the decision to get an abortion without talking to your parent first}} to make this decision on your own, or if it’s in your {{best interest}{the judge thinks it would be better for you not to talk to your parents}}. The judge has 5 days (including weekends and holidays) to give you a decision.

If the judge makes a decision and agrees that you can get an abortion without telling a parent, you will get an {{order}{official paper that you give to the clinic to show them that you have a judicial bypass}} from the court. They will mail the order to the address you put on the application and you will be able to bring that order to the clinic and get an abortion without having to tell your parent(s)/guardian. 

If the judge takes longer than 5 days to make a decision, then you automatically are given a judicial waiver and you will get an {{order}{official paper that you give to the clinic to show them that you have a judicial bypass}} from the court. 

Having either one of these documents means you can get an abortion in a clinic in Delaware without telling your parent. 

On the day the judge makes a decision, the court will mail 3 copies of the order to the mailing address you put in your application. The court will also attempt to call you the same day and, if you requested it, there will also be copies of the order available to you at the court for pick up.

To protect your privacy, you can ask attorney to receive and send a copy of the court order directly to the clinic for you.