Judicial-Bypass Provision Law and Legal Definition
Judicial bypass provision is a statutory provision that allows a court to assume a parental role when the parent or guardian cannot or will not act on behalf of a minor or an incompetent. It can also refer to a statutory provision that allows a minor to circumvent the necessity of obtaining parental consent by obtaining judicial consent. Generally, a parental consent statute, which is a statute that requires a minor to obtain his or her parent's consent before receiving elective medical treatment, such as an abortion should include a judicial-bypass provision to pass constitutional muster.
There are four criteria that a bypass procedure in a consent statute must satisfy. First, the procedure must allow the minor to show that she possesses the maturity and information to make an abortion decision, in consultation with her physician, without regard to her parents' wishes. Second, the procedure must allow the minor to show that, even if she cannot make the abortion decision by herself, the desired abortion would be in her best interests. Third, the procedure must insure the minor's anonymity. Fourth, courts must conduct a bypass procedure with expedition to allow the minor an effective opportunity to obtain an abortion. [Ohio v. Akron Ctr. for Reproductive Health, 497 U.S. 502 (U.S. 1990)]
