Supreme Court

The Texas Supreme Court's advisory committee will meet Friday at the Texas Law Center in a session principally devoted to amending rules governing judicial bypasses for minors seeking abortions.

Under Texas law, girls under 18 must have a parent or guardian's permission for an abortion unless they can get a court order in any Texas county by proving to a judge that they are sufficiently mature or if telling their parents of their pregnancy could lead to physical, sexual or emotional abuse. But amendments to the law, effective January 1, require such judicial-bypass applications be filed in the girl's home county unless that county has fewer than 10,000 residents.

The committee meeting, open to the public, will begin at 9 a.m. in the Hatton W. Sumners Conference Room at the Law Center (the State Bar Building). The meeting location changed.

House Bill 3994, passed in the last legislative session, amends the existing parental-consent law and permits the Texas Supreme Court to establish court rules for a minor's judicial-bypass application. The Supreme Court Advisory Committee drafts court rules for the Court's consideration.

The Texas Law Center is at 1414 Colorado in Austin. Parking is available at the Moody Bank Building, 400 West 15th St.