Mature Minor Exemption
Under the mature minor exception, a minor may consent to receive medical care without parental consent or notification if the court determines that the minor has the maturity to make independent decisions. A minor may seek medical care without parental consent if she can convince the court that she is mature enough to act in her own best interest and thus make an independent judgment to consent to treatment.[18, 19] Once a finding has been made in court that a minor is sufficiently mature enough to act in her own best interest and make an independent judgment to consent to treatment, it is unconstitutional for judicial authorization to be withheld.[18, 19, 22] The process that allows the minor to be declared a mature minor is known as judicial bypass. Judicial bypass has consistently allowed minors another option to consent for care in states with parental notification or parental consent requirements for adolescents seeking abortion. The Supreme Court ruled in 1990 that judicial bypass is constitutionally required if state law requires parental notification or consent.[23] Opponents of judicial bypass believe the process of seeking judicial bypass places an undue burden on adolescents seeking abortion.[24] The determination of maturity provides sufficient authorization for a minor to exercise her right to privacy without confirmation by third parties.[25]
The laws affecting a minor's right to privacy for health care, and specifically abortion, continue to change according to current interpretation of the law.[18] The Supreme Court in Planned Parenthood v Danforth struck down the parental consent requirement for minors in 1976.[13] In the 1981 case H.L. v Matheson, a law that parents should be notified "if possible" was upheld.[26] The Supreme Court upheld a parental consent law with judicial bypass provision in 1983 in Planned Parenthood v Ashcroft.