Juvenile Law Center's fact sheets are sponsored by The Alex Benjamin Norris Memorial Fund.
No. Minors can consent to all of these services on their own without an adult’s permission. Also, most family planning clinics receive federal funding and by law must keep all information confidential, and cannot notify parents without the youth’s permission.
Yes. A teenager who is pregnant or has been pregnant can consent to her own medical care, including prenatal care. A minor who seeks an abortion in Pennsylvania, however, will either need to obtain her parent’s or guardian’s consent or a court order.
In Pennsylvania, except in the case of a medical emergency, a physician must obtain the informed consent of at least one of the minor’s parents or guardians before performing an abortion on a minor who is not emancipated.
If a parent refuses to consent or if the minor does not want to ask for her parent’s consent, the minor can ask for a Judicial Bypass so that the court will give the minor permission to get an abortion. The petition is filed with the Court of Common Pleas of the judicial district in which she lives or is seeking an abortion. For more information on abortion and judicial bypasses please see Juvenile Law Center’s “Female Reproductive Rights– Abortion” fact sheet.
No. Except in a medical emergency where the teenager’s life is at risk, no parent or guardian may force a minor to have an abortion. If a teenage girl feels threatened that this may happen, she can go to the court for assistance.
No. The right to decide whether to have an abortion belongs to the pregnant woman. The father’s consent is not required nor does he have a right to be notified.
A pregnant teen can begin the process by talking with a counselor at private or public adoption agencies. The mother cannot give up her rights to her child and provide consent for the adoption until the baby is at least 72 hours (three days) old. The father can sign a consent form as soon as he learns of the birth of his child. To be valid, consent must be “voluntary, intelligent, and deliberate,” which means that the consent must not be forced or accepted without presenting the mother with sufficient information about what termination of parental rights will mean and what alternatives and services exist for teen parents.
In Pennsylvania, there is no open adoption so once a parent’s rights are terminated the parent has no legal right that can be enforced by a court to see the child unless the adoptive parents allow it.
Yes. Like any parent, teen parents can give up their children for adoption without their own parents’ consent. However, the minor’s parents must be notified of the hearing at which the minor’s parental rights will be terminated.
No. A teenage parent has the right to make decisions regarding the adoption of his or her child. If consent is forced, it is not voluntary and therefore not valid.
Last updated December 2011
Juvenile Law Center's fact sheets are sponsored by The Alex Benjamin Norris Memorial Fund.
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