Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-10-303 (2026)
Written consent required - Petition for waiver
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a)
- (1) No person shall perform an abortion on an unemancipated minor unless such person or such person's agent first obtains the written consent of one (1) parent or the legal guardian of the minor. The consent shall be signed. The person shall obtain some written documentation, other than the written consent itself, that purports to establish the relationship of the parent or guardian to the minor and the documentation, along with the signed consent, shall be retained by the person for a period of at least one (1) year. Failure of the person performing the abortion to obtain or retain the documentation and consent is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable only by a fine, unless the failure of the person performing the abortion to retain the required documentation was due to a bona fide, imminent medical emergency to the minor, in which case there is no violation.
- (2) A person commits a Class A misdemeanor who impersonates the parent or legal guardian of an unemancipated minor for the purpose of circumventing the requirements of subdivision (a)(1).
- (b) If neither a parent nor a legal guardian is available to the person performing the abortion or such person's agent, or the party from whom consent must be obtained pursuant to this section refuses to consent to the performance of an abortion, or the minor elects not to seek consent of the parent or legal guardian whose consent is required, then the minor may petition, on the minor's own behalf, or by next friend, the juvenile court of any county of this state for a waiver of the consent requirement of this section, pursuant to the procedures of § 37-10-304.
- (c) If a criminal charge of incest is pending against a parent of such minor pursuant to § 39-15-302, the written consent of such parent, as provided for in subdivision (a)(1), is not required.
Acts 1988, ch. 929, § 3; 1995, ch. 458, § 3; 2006, ch. 932, §§ 1, 3.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 9
cases, 1989–2017 · leading case: Crystal BLACKWELL, as Next Friend to Jacob Blackwell, a Minor v. SKY HIGH SPORTS NASHVILLE OPERATIONS, LLC, 523 S.W.3d 624 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2017).
Crystal BLACKWELL, as Next Friend to Jacob Blackwell, a Minor v. SKY HIGH SPORTS NASHVILLE OPERATIONS, LLC, 523 S.W.3d 624 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2017). “§ 34-6-307 (granting a parent the right to refuse medical treatment for his or her child, unless the parent’s decision “jeop *651 ardize[s] the life, health, or safety of the minor child”); Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-10-303 (granting the parent the right to consent to his or her…”
Memphis Planned Parenthood, Inc. v. Donald Sundquist, Governor of the State of Tennessee, & John Knox Walkup, Attorney Gen., 175 F.3d 456 (6th Cir. 1999). “District Court’s Findings of Fact & Conclusions of Law The district court accurately recognized that Tenn.Code Ann. § 37-10-303 provides that a minor submitting a bypass petition may file it in “the juvenile court of any county of this state,” and that Tenn.”
Linda F. Seals v. H & F, Inc., 301 S.W.3d 237 (Tenn. 2010). “By the same token, if the capacity of an adult to make a decision regarding the disposition of a decedent's remains is challenged, the decision regarding the adult's capacity is a question of fact, not a question of law.”
Planned Parenthood Ass'n v. McWherter, 716 F. Supp. 1064 (M.D. Tenn. 1989). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-10-303 (b). In such cases, the written consent of the parent with custody, or the parent who is available, shall be sufficient to authorize the abortion.”
Planned Parenthood Ass'n of Nashville, Inc. v. McWherter, 817 S.W.2d 13 (Tenn. 1991). “Which of the provisions of the two statutes respecting parental notification and consent, if any, is in effect under Tennessee statutory and constitutional principles of interpretation? ANALYSIS An examination of the Tennessee statutory scheme regarding abortions performed on…”
Memphis Planned Parenthood, Inc. v. Sundquist, 2 F. Supp. 2d 997 (M.D. Tenn. 1997). “The venue restriction While the Act provides that a minor submitting a bypass petition may file it in “the juvenile court of any county of this state,” Tenn.Code Ann. § 37-10-303, the Rule amends this provision by limiting the minor to “filing a petition in the Juvenile Court of…”
Planned Parenthood Ass'n of Tennessee v. Don Sundquist, Governor of the State of Tennessee (Tenn. Ct. App. 2004). “38 Women under the age of eighteen years of age may circumvent the parental consent requirements in Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-10-303 if their physician determines in his or her best medical judgment that “a medical emergency exists that so complicates the pregnancy as to require an…”
Linda F. Seals v. H & F, Inc. - Dissenting (Tenn. 2010). “19 Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-10-303 (b) (Supp. 2009).”
John Doe v. Mama Taori's Premium Pizza, LLC (Tenn. Ct. App. 2001). “§ 63-6-223 (1997)]; they may seek judicial consent for an abortion [ Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-10-303 (b) (1996)]; and they may surrender a child for adoption [ Tenn.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-10-303(a) — 2 cases
Planned Parenthood Ass'n of Nashville, Inc. v. McWherter, 817 S.W.2d 13 (Tenn. 1991). “Which of the provisions of the two statutes respecting parental notification and consent, if any, is in effect under Tennessee statutory and constitutional principles of interpretation? ANALYSIS An examination of the Tennessee statutory scheme regarding abortions performed on…”
Memphis Planned Parenthood, Inc. v. Sundquist, 2 F. Supp. 2d 997 (M.D. Tenn. 1997). “The venue restriction While the Act provides that a minor submitting a bypass petition may file it in “the juvenile court of any county of this state,” Tenn.Code Ann. § 37-10-303, the Rule amends this provision by limiting the minor to “filing a petition in the Juvenile Court of…”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-10-303(b) — 4 cases
Linda F. Seals v. H & F, Inc., 301 S.W.3d 237 (Tenn. 2010). “By the same token, if the capacity of an adult to make a decision regarding the disposition of a decedent's remains is challenged, the decision regarding the adult's capacity is a question of fact, not a question of law.”
Planned Parenthood Ass'n v. McWherter, 716 F. Supp. 1064 (M.D. Tenn. 1989). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-10-303 (b). In such cases, the written consent of the parent with custody, or the parent who is available, shall be sufficient to authorize the abortion.”
Memphis Planned Parenthood, Inc. v. Donald Sundquist, Governor of the State of Tennessee, & John Knox Walkup, Attorney Gen., 175 F.3d 456 (6th Cir. 1999). “District Court’s Findings of Fact & Conclusions of Law The district court accurately recognized that Tenn.Code Ann. § 37-10-303 provides that a minor submitting a bypass petition may file it in “the juvenile court of any county of this state,” and that Tenn.”
Memphis Planned Parenthood, Inc. v. Sundquist, 2 F. Supp. 2d 997 (M.D. Tenn. 1997). “The venue restriction While the Act provides that a minor submitting a bypass petition may file it in “the juvenile court of any county of this state,” Tenn.Code Ann. § 37-10-303, the Rule amends this provision by limiting the minor to “filing a petition in the Juvenile Court of…”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-10-303(c) — 2 cases
Planned Parenthood Ass'n v. McWherter, 716 F. Supp. 1064 (M.D. Tenn. 1989). “” Tenn. Code Ann. § 37-10-303 (b). In such cases, the written consent of the parent with custody, or the parent who is available, shall be sufficient to authorize the abortion.”
Planned Parenthood Ass'n of Nashville, Inc. v. McWherter, 817 S.W.2d 13 (Tenn. 1991). “Which of the provisions of the two statutes respecting parental notification and consent, if any, is in effect under Tennessee statutory and constitutional principles of interpretation? ANALYSIS An examination of the Tennessee statutory scheme regarding abortions performed on…”
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