Covered Medical Services

• South Carolina teens can receive birth control and other contraceptives without notifying their parents. Parents do not have to be notified when it comes to testing and treatment for sexually-transmitted diseases, prenatal care and testing, as well as medical treatment for their teen's minor child. The teen can receive all of these services without consent, and doctors are prohibited from notifying the parents unless the teen gives permission. However, parents must be notified and also give consent for abortion services.
  
  

Age Limits

• The state's parental notification laws cover all teens. However, South Carolina law specifies that teens 15 and under must be mature. The courts identify what constitutes maturity. This is a point that parents can use to argue for notification and/or consent over reproductive services. Teens over the age of 16 are covered under the law without stipulation.
  
  

Judicial Bypass

• Parents must also consider the option of judicial bypass, which allows teens to petition the court for the right to have an abortion without consent in South Carolina. Parents of teens age 15 or younger can argue against judicial bypass, using the maturity argument. Parents of teens age 16 and older can do the same. The teen has the burden in judicial bypass to prove that she is mature enough to understand and undergo the abortion process without the aid of her parents. The right to have an abortion without parental consent is only granted when the courts are satisfied that the teen is mature enough.
  
  

Teen Consent

• Teens are allowed to notify their parents that they are receiving reproductive services and must tell their parents if they are seeking an abortion, which requires parental consent. The physician offering the services must adhere to the teen's wishes, whatever the choice may be. Unless told to do so by the courts, the medical professionals treating the teen cannot override the notification laws of the state of South Carolina.