No matter their age, every person in Virginia has the legal right to get an abortion. Generally, abortions must be performed by 25 weeks unless the patient’s life or health is in danger.
Virginia makes people under age 18 get written permission before having an abortion. That permission is called consent. Virginia also requires that doctors tell a young person’s parents about their decision to have an abortion. This is called parental notification.
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.
If you cannot or do not want to tell your 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}}, 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 judicial bypass.
In Virginia, even if a judge decides that you do not need a parent’s permission to have an abortion, your doctor may still have to tell your parent/guardian about your decision to have an abortion. You may choose to go to a different state for your abortion.
In Virginia, you can get consent from your parent, {{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}}, custodian, or an adult acting in {{loco parentis}{Acting in loco parentis means an adult is taking care of you like a parent would, even though they are not your actual parent. Unlike a legal guardian, this adult may not have an official order from the court saying that they have a duty to care for you}} can consent to you having an abortion. There are two options for how one of the adults in the above list can consent to the procedure.
One option is that they can go with you to the abortion clinic any day before your appointment, or on the day of the abortion, and fill out and sign a form called “consent authorization.” The clinic will give you this form. This form will need to be {{notarized}{Notarized means that a document was certified as true by an official with a special license. That official is called a notary}}. Most clinics in Virginia have notaries on staff so you will not need to leave the clinic in order to complete the form. To get the letter notarized, you and your trusted family member will need a valid form of identification, like a state-issued identification card, state-issued driver’s license, or passport.
The second option is that the abortion clinic can send one of the adults in the above list actual notice of your intention to have an abortion. The clinic does this one of two ways. At least 24 hours before your scheduled appointment, the adult consenting for you can call the clinic, or the clinic can call them at a phone number you provide. Or the clinic can send the notice by certified mail to the adult at the address you provide. If you choose this option, the clinic will have to send the notice 72 hours before your appointment, and you will need to bring the filled out, signed, and notarized “consent authorization” form (see above).
If you cannot or do not want to involve one of these adults, 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.
If you are married, on active duty in the US Armed Forces, willingly living separate and apart from your parents, or an {{emancipated minor}{An emancipated minor went through a legal process and has a 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.
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 your parent’s permission.
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. You can ask the court for a lawyer. Or you can reach out to the Repro Legal Helpline 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.
In Virginia, even if a judge decides that you do not need a parent’s permission to have an abortion, your doctor may still have to tell your parent/guardian about your decision to have an abortion.
You may choose to go to a different state for your abortion. Washington D.C. does not have parental involvement laws. Maryland does require parental notification, but you can get a bypass there for notification. If you get a judicial bypass in a different state, you will also have to get your abortion in that same state.
- If you are a young person who needs a judicial bypass and need an attorney to help you with the process, you can contact the Repro Legal Helpline to be connected to an advocate in Virginia.
- 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 young person who needs a judicial bypass. A lot of clinics can tell you more about the process and answer your questions. You can find a map of abortion clinics in Virginia here.
You will have to call the court and say you would like to schedule an appointment with the intake officer for a judicial bypass. If the person you speak with tells you that they don’t do that or that they don’t know what a judicial bypass is, explain that a judicial bypass is a way for a young person to get the judge’s permission to have an abortion. You might also need to share the numbers at the tops of the forms here.
Once you have an appointment with the intake officer, you will need to make sure to go to the appointment on time. To find courts in your area, you can look here. Take photo identification to court with you. At court, you will have to fill out several forms—one is called a {{petition}{A petition is a form you fill in with information that tells the court what you are asking for}}—that you can find here.
After the intake appointment, the forms will be filed with the court. The judge has 4 days to schedule a {{hearing}{A hearing is a meeting with the judge}} and make a decision.
- 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 page for that state to learn about its abortion restrictions, which could be very different from Virginia.
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.
You can find a list of questions that a judge may ask here. 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.
After the hearing, the judge makes a decision about whether you can make the decision to have an abortion without your parent’s consent. 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}{hearing is a meeting with the 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 that shows the judge’s decision}} 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.
In Virginia, even if a judge decides that you do not need a parent’s permission to have an abortion, your doctor may still have to tell your parent/guardian about your decision to have an abortion. You may choose to go to a different state for an abortion.
Washington D.C. does not have parental involvement laws. Maryland does require parental notification, but you can get a bypass there for the notification. If you get a judicial bypass in a different state, you will also have to get your abortion in that same state.
No. The judicial bypass is confidential, which means that no one outside of the court will be told about it and the {{court records}{all the documents related to what happened as part of your judicial bypass}} will not be available to anyone.
In Virginia, even if a judge decides that you do not need a parent’s permission to have an abortion, your doctor may still have to tell your parent/guardian about your decision to have an abortion.
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 your parent/guardian’s permission.
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. You will have 10 days to make this official request.
If you had a lawyer for the {{hearing}{a hearing is a meeting with a 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.
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. In Washington, D.C., you do not need a parent’s permission to have an abortion. And in Maryland, the doctor can decide that your parent does not need to be notified, if the doctor thinks you are mature or that it is in your best interest not to tell a parent.
You do not have to pay any money to get a judicial bypass. You may be able to get help paying for an abortion through the clinic with the help of an abortion fund. You can also contact the abortion fund directly for more information.
Blue Ridge Abortion Fund
434-963-0669 (leave a voicemail)
Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project
1-888-847-1593
https://www.rrfp.net/
(202) 452-7464 (leave a voicemail)
You can find a map of the abortion clinics in Virginia here.
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