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Crys Zaragoza was out of options. Zaragoza, a client coordinator at , a practical support abortion fund, had been trying for days to help a pregnant person under the age of 18 in Michigan access reproductive health care. But they couldn鈥檛 figure out how to help.

鈥淭he young person said they were 22 weeks pregnant,鈥� Zaragoza says. The client insisted that she had not and would not tell her mother about her pregnancy. In reality, the client was already in her third trimester, rendering abortion care in the state of Michigan an impossibility due to lack of providers at that stage. Zaragoza shared information on adoption, connected her with further resources, and even flew in a doula from Georgia to help.

But the process was too much for the young person. She soon stopped responding to messages from Zaragoza and their broader support team. Another person seeking reproductive health care in post-Roe America slipped through the cracks.

In November 2022, Michigan voters passed , which enshrined the right to an abortion in the state constitution. This was a huge win: One of the few remaining battleground states had overwhelmingly voted to make abortion a fundamental right, with approving the measure. And was clear: It gave 鈥渆very individual … a right to reproductive freedom, including the right to make and carry out pregnancy-related decisions,鈥� including abortion. Age was not a limitation.

But lurking beneath that victory is the underbelly of how these amendments become workable law, and who gets left out in the process. from Human Rights Watch, the Michigan Organization on Adolescent Health, If/When/How, and the ACLU of Michigan reveals just how far the state has to go in order to make good on what Prop 3 actually promised for abortion-seekers under the age of 18鈥攁nd how Michiganders can make it happen.

Since 1990, mandatory parental consent or judicial bypass has been forced on minors seeking abortion care in Michigan and that require at least one parent to provide consent before a patient under the age of 18 may legally have an abortion.

Ten other states, including blue states like Minnesota and Maryland, require that patients under 18 notify a parent before they are able to have an abortion. Of the 700 young people under 18 who have abortions in Michigan every year, more than 85% of them involve their parents, according to the report. But there are very good reasons why the other 15% may not want to involve a parent in their decision. 

鈥淲e have supported young individuals who, despite receiving their parents鈥� consent for an abortion, were subsequently expelled from their homes for acting against their parents鈥� values,鈥� says Jex Blackmore, a founding member of the , a Detroit-based abortion fund. 鈥淟osing access to housing and security at a young age can impact the trajectory of someone鈥檚 life and is a result of this inhumane law.鈥�

The report reveals just how onerous the judicial bypass process is for young people: Pregnant minors have to first find a judicial bypass attorney to help them. With their attorney鈥檚 help, they must file a petition for a judicial waiver to the state鈥檚 parental consent law and then go before a judge, who will determine whether the abortion-seeker is 鈥渕ature鈥� enough to proceed with an abortion.

The young person will likely face a barrage of personal, invasive questions about their sexual history, personal behavior, and family life. According to the report, an abortion seeker if they were 鈥渁ware that some people who have abortions regret it later in life.鈥� 

鈥淢y god, the maturity that it takes,鈥� Kylee Sunderlin, a judicial bypass attorney in Michigan and the legal services director at, a legal reproductive justice organization, says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no question鈥攐f course [they] should be allowed to do this.鈥�

But that isn鈥檛 how it played out in the state legislature. Last fall, Michigan state Democrats declined to include a repeal of the state鈥檚 parental consent law in (RHA), seemingly in an effort to appease more conservative lawmakers. The RHA, which codified Roe and repealed laws as well as a law that forced patients to purchase an additional insurance rider for abortion care, was on Nov. 21, 2023. 

鈥淭he goal is to do as much of this work as we possibly can, and we didn鈥檛 want to include anything that would have prohibited the rest of the package from getting through at this point in time,鈥� , a Democrat in the Michigan Legislature, told abortion-rights supporters in September 2023. 鈥淚 think that there is a broader and continuing conversation around that piece鈥擨 know there is鈥攂ut at this point in time, it鈥檚 not going to be in this package.鈥�

鈥淸The law] negotiated away young people,鈥� Sunderlin says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 an accident that the first people whose rights get negotiated away are the people who don鈥檛 even have the right to vote.鈥�

Repealing Michigan鈥檚 parental consent law will be hard, but there is a precedent. In 2021, the Illinois state legislature became the first to , which Governor J.B. Pritzker ultimately signed into law. In effect as of Jan. 1, 2024, abortion patients under the age of 18 are no longer required by law to notify their parent or guardian before having an abortion in Illinois.

Sunderlin and others hope that the aforementioned, a uniquely collaborative effort across organizations, will begin the process of undoing forced parental consent in Michigan, as well.

The first step is educating the public about how harmful judicial bypass really is. For young people who live in small towns, judicial bypass could mean going before a judge who may know them or their family. That鈥檚 a potential threat to their privacy and safety. But even if their confidentiality is maintained, having to answer deeply invasive, personal questions from a stranger in a courtroom can be terrifying and traumatizing for anyone, let alone young people under the age of 18.

Once the public understands the reality of forced parental consent, of how difficult and taxing the judicial bypass process is, repealing the law will seem much more feasible. 

鈥淲e need legislators to recognize the humanity and dignity of all their constituents. If young people can be trusted to drive, work, serve as a political intern, and consent on their own to services related to childbirth, they are undoubtedly capable of making informed health care decisions,鈥� Blackmore says. Michiganders should contact their representatives and 鈥渄emand a repeal,鈥� they added.

But it鈥檚 about more than changing a law; it鈥檚 about changing the way America perceives young people and creating a culture in which bodily autonomy isn鈥檛 just for those over the age of 18. The right to determine what happens to your own body shouldn鈥檛 be determined by how old you are. That work is longer in scope but the deeper, more substantive solution to ensure that bodily autonomy is universally realized. 

鈥淵oung people know what鈥檚 best for their bodies, their health, and their lives,鈥� Zaragoza concludes. 鈥淣o person or law should stand between someone鈥檚 well-being and the rest of their life.鈥�