(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (b) and (d) of this section and Sections 26-21-4 and 26-21-5 hereof, no physician shall perform an abortion upon an unemancipated minor unless the physician or his or her agents first obtain the written consent of either parent or the legal guardian of the minor.
(b) The physician who shall perform the abortion or his or her agents shall obtain or be provided with the written consent from either parent or legal guardian stating the names of the minor, parent, or legal guardian, that he or she is informed that the minor desires an abortion and does consent to the abortion, the date, and the consent shall be signed by either parent or legal guardian. The signatures of the parents, parent, or legal guardian shall be affixed and the information required in this subsection shall be on a form to be provided by, and shall be written in the presence of, the physician who shall perform the abortion or his or her agents. The parents, parent, or legal guardian shall provide to the physician who shall perform the abortion, or his or her agents, evidence of parentage or legal guardianship. For parents or a parent, there shall also be required a certified birth certificate of the minor identifying the minor and the parents or parent. For a legal guardian or adoptive parent, there shall be required a duly certified court order or other official document naming the legal guardian or adoptive parent as such for the minor. If official photographic personal identification has not been issued to any parents, parent, or legal guardian, other official identification shall be acceptable, provided the parents, parent, or legal guardian affirms in writing on the form herein required under oath, with recognition of criminal penalties, that he or she does not possess any photographic identification and that the alternative personal identification provided is his or her identification. The parent, parents or legal guardian signing the consent shall attest with recognition of criminal penalties that he or she is the parent or legal guardian, has not been deprived of primary custody or joint physical custody of the minor by any court of law, and has not given the child up for adoption or otherwise waived parental rights. If the minor does not have a certified birth certificate, an abortion may be performed only if the physician who shall perform the abortion certifies in writing in the minor's medical record that a medical emergency exists or that there is insufficient time to obtain a certified birth certificate, and provided the minor can provide other government issued identification. The parents, parent, or minor shall obtain a certified birth certificate as soon thereafter as possible and provide a certified copy to the physician who performed the abortion or his or her agents, and if it is not received within 90 days, he or she shall report the failure to the State of Alabama Department of Public Health on a form provided by the department. Any certified document, a photocopy of the personal identification, and any other documentation required by this subsection shall be attached to the completed consent form and shall be kept as a part of the minor's patient file for four years. All signatures required by Sections 26-21-1, 26-21-2, 26-21-3, 26-21-4, 26-21-6, 26-21-6.1, and 26-21-7 by the minor, a parent or parents, a legal guardian, physician, or another person shall be attested either by two witnesses, or by a notary public.
(c) If the minor is emancipated, the physician who shall perform the abortion or his or her agents shall obtain a written form stating the name of the emancipated minor, that the minor is emancipated, the type of emancipation, and the date, and the form shall be signed by the emancipated minor. The written form shall be signed in the presence of the physician who shall perform the abortion or his or her agents and witnessed by the physician or the agents. The emancipated minor shall also provide a license or certificate of marriage, judgment, or decree of divorce, order of emancipation or relieving her of the disabilities of nonage, or other court document evidencing her marriage, divorce, or emancipation. Any such document shall be a copy of the original, duly certified by the appropriate court. Such certified document shall be attached to the written form and kept as a part of the minor's patient file for four years.
(d) A minor, including a ward of the state, who elects not to seek or does not or cannot for any reason, including unavailability or refusal by either or both parents or legal guardian, obtain consent from either of her parents or legal guardian under this section, may petition, on her own behalf, the juvenile court, or court of equal standing, in the county in which the minor resides or in the county in which the abortion is to be performed for a waiver of the consent requirement of this section pursuant to the procedure of Section 26-21-4.
(e) A parent, legal guardian, custodian, or any other person, shall not coerce a minor to have an abortion performed.
(f) The Department of Public Health shall propose within 90 days of July 1, 2014, the forms required in subsections (b) and (c).
Last modified: May 3, 2021