judicial waiver of parental consent requirement for a

3. Disposition. G.S. 90-21.8(e). The court must waive the parentalconsent requirement if it finds any of the following:a. that the minor is mature and well-informed enough to makethe abortion decision on her own;b. that it would be in the minor’s best interest for the parentalconsent requirement to be waived;c. that the minor is a victim of rape; ord. that the minor is a victim of felonious incest.4. Required findings.a. The court must make written findings of fact andconclusions of law supporting its decision. G.S. 90-21.8(f).b. If the court finds that the minor has been a victim of incest,it shall advise the county department of social services. InNovember, 1995, the federal District Court for the WesternDistrict of North Carolina, in an action challenging theconstitutionality of the act on a variety of grounds, grantedplaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction, but only asto this requirement that the court report incest to thedepartment of social services. Manning v. Hunt, CivilAction No. 1:95cv229-T(W.D.N.C.). On March 1, 1996,the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay of theinjunction, pending its ruling on the case. No decision hasbeen rendered as of the publication of this manual.C. Appeal. See, following this chapter, Rules for Appeal, as adopted by theSupreme Court of North Carolina.1. Jurisdiction. If the district court denies her petition, the minor mayappeal to superior court for a de novo hearing. G.S. 90-21.8(h).2. Timing. The notice of appeal must be filed within twenty-fourhours from the date of the district court order. G.S. 90-21.8(h).3. Timing of de novo hearing. The hearing before a superior courtjudge must be held as soon as possible, and at least within sevendays after the filing of the notice of appeal. G.S. 90-21.8(h).Chapter 11-4

4. Confidentiality. The record of the de novo hearing is aconfidential record and shall not be open to public inspection.G.S. 90-21.8(h).5. Appeal from a decision by the superior court. The statute does notspecify whether there is a right of appeal from a decision by thesuperior court. The Chief Justice of the North Carolina SupremeCourt is directed in G.S. 90-21.8(h) to adopt rules necessary toimplement the appeal of a minor from the decision of a districtcourt judge. These rules anticipate the possibility of an appealfrom the decision of a superior court judge, and provide for atranscript to be prepared for the use of the minor. AOC form J-602, "Order on minor's petition for waiver of parental consentrequirement for abortion," includes a section on procedures forappeal from superior court, and states that the appeal "will beconsidered by the North Carolina Court of Appeals." Someexperts have questioned whether or not the legislature intended aright of direct appeal to the Court of Appeals. In any event,appellate review is available through a writ of certiorari filed withthe Court of Appeals.Chapter 11-5