About abortion
If you are under eighteen years of age and you decide to get an abortion, you should know that Colorado passed a law in 2003 that requires the health care provider to notify your parent or legal guardian forty-eight hours before you can have an abortion. This includes both medical (RU 486) and surgical abortion. The law does not say that a parent or legal guardian must give permission for you to have an abortion-just that he or she has to be notified.

The law applies to all women under age eighteen, unless you are at least fifteen years of age and are emancipated (that is, you financially support and take care of yourself ), are married and don't live with a parent or legal guardian, and/or your doctor decides that there is a medical emergency related to your pregnancy. If your parent or legal guardian comes to the abortion clinic with you, he or she can sign a form saying that he or she knows you are going to have an abortion.

If you can't talk to your parents or legal guardian about your choice to have an abortion, there is an option. It is called a judicial bypass. Judicial bypass means you can ask for an order from a judge to allow you to have an abortion without telling your parent or legal guardian.

The process to obtain a judicial bypass has four steps. You and a lawyer file the petition, the court sets a hearing date, and you go to the hearing and wait for the decision. A decision will be made within four days after your petition is filed. If your request for a judicial bypass is denied, your lawyer can help you appeal the decision. Your request for a judicial bypass (whether granted or not) is kept confidential.

For more information about Colorado's parental notification law, judicial bypass and help finding a lawyer who will provide free and private services, go to Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountain's website at www.pprm.org, or call their toll-free hotline at 1-866-277-2771.