Utah

No matter their age, every person in Utah has the legal right to get an abortion. But the state restricts abortions in some ways. In Utah, every person who wants or needs to have an abortion must:

• Complete an online informed consent class, found on the Utah Department of Health website here;
• Meet face-to-face with an approved health care provider; and
• Wait 72 hours after completing both the online informed consent class and the meeting with a health care provider before they can have the abortion.

The 72-hour wait is not required if the abortion is necessary to save the patient’s life or avoid serious harm to the patient’s physical health. All abortions must be performed by 18 weeks unless the patient’s life or health is in danger.

All abortion providers give some counseling to make sure you understand the medical process. But in Utah, the law makes you complete an online class with information meant to change your mind about having an abortion. Some of the information might be upsetting or misleading. If you have questions, you can connect with other young people who have had an abortion to hear about their experiences here. You can also learn more about abortion procedures, how people may feel afterward, and learn about free, confidential, phone-based counseling services here. You can also talk to staff at the clinic where you want to get your abortion if you have questions.

Utah makes people under age 18 get written permission from 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}} before getting an abortion. That written permission is called consent.

If you cannot or do not want to involve your parent or guardian, or if they will not consent, you can go to court and ask a judge to allow you to get an abortion. This is called a judicial bypass.

Even if a judge agrees that you should be able to make the decision without permission from a parent or guardian, the law can still require the doctor performing the abortion to notify your parent or guardian 24 hours before the procedure. This is called parental notification or parental notice. However, there are exceptions that would allow the doctor to provide the abortion without having to provide parental notice. You can ask your doctor about this or speak to an attorney at the Utah Judicial Bypass Project, website here, to learn more.

If you are married or an {{emancipated minor}{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}}, you can get an abortion without involving a parent or getting a judicial bypass.

If you feel safe and want to involve a parent in your decision to have an abortion, one option is to talk to them about whether they will give you permission to get an abortion. That permission is called consent. In Utah, you need consent from only one parent or {{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}}.

In Utah, only your parent or guardian  can consent to you having an abortion. If you are in foster care, even if your 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 your foster parent to help you get a judicial bypass.

If your parent or guardian gives you permission, they must sign a form provided by the abortion clinic saying that they give you permission to have an abortion.

Your parent or guardian must also bring official documents that show that they are actually your parent or guardian. Your parent should bring a copy of your birth certificate. Your guardian should have a court order to prove that they are your legal guardian. You and your parent or guardian should also bring government-issued identification—a passport, state-issued driver’s license, or state-issued ID card.

Not everyone can involve their parent or guardian in their decision to have an abortion. If you cannot or do not want to involve your parent, or if they will not consent, there is another option called a judicial bypass. A judicial bypass means asking a judge to allow you to get an abortion without needing permission from a parent/guardian.

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. Or you can reach out to the Utah Judicial Bypass Project to get connected to a lawyer who will help you through the entire process.

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.

1. Utah is one of the states that has a dedicated group of advocates working to help young people who need a judicial bypass. You can visit the website for the Utah Judicial Bypass Project here. The Utah Judicial Bypass Project runs a hotline that supports young people who need to get a judicial bypass in Utah.

If you contact the Utah Judicial Bypass Project, let them know you are a young person who needs a judicial bypass. Their advocates have the most up to date information and will connect you with an attorney for free. The attorney who will fill out all of the paperwork, file the {{petition}{A petition is a form you fill in with information that tells the court what you are asking for}}, schedule the {{hearing}{a hearing is a meeting with a judge}}, and represent you at the hearing.

The hotline is confidential and free. You can reach the Utah Judicial Bypass Project by calling or texting 385-202-3811 or you can find out more information here.

2. You also have the option to start the judicial bypass process on your own. If you already know which clinic you would like to go to, you can call them and say you are a minor who needs help with a judicial bypass. A lot of clinics can tell you more about the process and answer your questions. There are two abortion clinics in Utah, and both are in Salt Lake City. You can find more information about those clinics here.

You can find the petition here. After you fill it out, you turn it in to 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}} of court responsible for juvenile proceedings. To find courts in your area, you can look here.

Once you turn in the application for a judicial bypass, the clerk will schedule a hearing right away. The judge has 3 days to hold the hearing and make a decision.

3. You also can go to a clinic outside of the state where you live. If that is the decision you make, please go to the judicial bypass wiki page for that state to learn about its abortion restrictions, which could be very different from Utah.

The {{hearing}{a hearing is a meeting with the judge}} will happen in an office or in a {{closed courtroom}{A closed courtroom means that no one will be allowed in other than you, your attorney, the judge, and a clerk}}. The judge will ask you questions to learn more about you. Since every judge is different, we cannot know exactly what they will ask you, but the judge is trying to decide whether you seem mature enough to make the decision to have an abortion without involving a parent.

Judges can ask your age, whether you have had a job, 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, what plans you have for the future, and whether you have made other big decisions in your life. The judge might also ask what has 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 wanted or needed an abortion. The judge might ask you why you want or need an abortion.

A judge might also ask questions that are not listed here, but it is a good idea to start thinking about what your answers are to these questions so you are ready if the judge asks. Your lawyer can help you with this. And you can find more information from the Utah Judicial Bypass Project about what judge’s might ask you here.

After the hearing, the judge makes a decision about whether you can have an abortion without your parent’s consent.  The judge usually makes a decision right away. If you do not go to court to talk to the judge at the time you are scheduled to be there, the judge could automatically decide that you cannot get an abortion without getting consent from your parent.

If you think you cannot make it to the hearing, but still want the judicial bypass, you can ask for a different time to talk to the judge. If you have a lawyer, ask your lawyer about changing the time. If you don’t have a lawyer, call the court and tell them you have a time scheduled to talk to the judge but need a {{different time}{The person at the court who you speak with might call this a continuance}}.

After the {{hearing}{a hearing is a meeting with a judge}}, 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}} enough to make this decision on your own, or if it’s in your {{best interest}{judge thinks it would be better for you not to talk to your parents}} not to tell your parent.

If the judge makes a decision and agrees that you can get an abortion, you will get an {{order}{official paper to give to the clinic to show them that you have a judicial bypass}} from the court. This order is what you will need to take to the clinic to show that you have permission from the court to get an abortion. To protect your privacy, you can ask court/attorney to send a copy of the court order directly to the clinic for you. 

Even if a judge agrees that you should be able to make the decision without permission from a parent or guardian, the law can still require the doctor performing the abortion to notify your parent or guardian 24 hours before the procedure. This is called parental notification or parental notice. However, there are exceptions that would allow the doctor to provide the abortion without having to provide parental notice. You can ask your doctor about this or speak to an attorney at the Utah Judicial Bypass Project, website here, to learn more.

No. The judicial bypass is confidential, which means that no one outside of the court will be told about it.

But even if a judge agrees that you should be able to make the decision to have an abortion without permission from a parent or guardian, the law still requires the doctor performing the abortion to notify your parent or guardian 24 hours before the procedure.

If you do not want a parent/guardian to be notified at all, you may also get an abortion in a different state without parental involvement laws. Please visit the judicial bypass page for that state to learn more. You can also contact the Utah Judicial Bypass Project, website here, to learn more about exceptions that might apply that would allow for no parental notice.

No, if you are granted a judicial bypass that means you can get an abortion if you want. It does not mean you are required to and you can always change your mind. The court {{order}{official paper to give to the clinic to show them that you have a judicial bypass}} just means you can make the decision about whether you want or need an abortion without needing permission from your parent/guardian.

If the judge says you cannot get an abortion without your parent’s permission, you can {{appeal}{An appeal is what happens when you do not agree with the judge’s decision and want to try and challenge that decision in court}} the decision. So even if the judge tells you no, you can ask another court with different judges to make a different decision.

If you had a lawyer for the {{hearing}{a hearing is a meeting with the judge}}, they can talk to you about the appeal and help you understand what you need to do next. If you did not have a lawyer for the hearing, you will need to ask the court to give you a lawyer for the appeal.

If you want to appeal the judge’s decision, you have to fill out the Notice of Appeal form here. You will need to do this within 30 days of the judge’s decision denying you a judicial bypass. Once you file the notice of appeal, the court has to have a hearing over the appeal and issue a decision immediately afterwards, or make a decision within 3 days based on the notice of appeal.

You may also decide to get an abortion from a different state that does not have a law that requires you to involve your parent.

You do not have to pay any money to get a judicial bypass. You might be able to get help paying for your abortion by contacting the state’s abortion fund:

Utah Abortion Fund

801-215-9441

https://utabortionfund.org/

There are two abortion clinics in Utah, both in Salt Lake City.

Planned Parenthood Metro Clinic

160 South 1000 East, Suite 120
Salt Lake City, UT 84102

801-257-6789

Wasatch Women’s Center

715 East 3900 South #203

Salt Lake City, UT 84107

801-263-2111

Some clinics may have limited service or hours

You can also use these directories to find an abortion clinic near you:

Planned Parenthood: Directory Here (make sure you select abortion in the services drop down menu) 

National Abortion Federation: Directory Here 

Abortion Care Network: Directory Here 

I Need An Abortion: Directory Here