The question presented in this case is whether a state statute which requires a physician to "[n]otify, if possible," the parents of a dependent, unmarried minor girl prior to performing an abortion on the girl violates federal constitutional guarantees.

* In the spring of 1978, appellant was an unmarried 15-year-old girl living with her parents in Utah and dependent on them for her support. She discovered she was pregnant. She consulted with a social worker and a physician. The physician advised appellant that an abortion would be in her best medical interest. However, because of Utah Code Ann. § 76-7-304 (1978), he refused to perform the abortion without first notifying appellant's parents.

Section 76-7-304, enacted in 1974, provides:

"To enable the physician to exercise his best medical judgment [in considering a possible abortion], he shall:

"(1) Consider all factors relevant to the well-being of the woman upon whom the abortion is to be performed including, but not limited to,

"(a) Her physical, emotional and psychological health and safety,

"(b) Her age,

"(c) Her familial situation.

"(2) Notify, if possible, the parents or guardian of the woman upon whom the abortion is to be performed, if she is a minor or the husband of the woman, if she is married." (Emphasis supplied.)1

Violation of this section is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than one year or a fine of not more than $1,000.2

Appellant believed "for [her] own reasons" that she should proceed with the abortion without notifying her parents. According to appellant, the social worker concurred in this decision.3 While still in the first trimester of her pregnancy, appellant instituted this action in the Third Judicial District Court of Utah.4 She sought a declaration that § 76-7-304(2) is unconstitutional and an injunction prohibiting appellees, the Governor and the Attorney General of Utah, from enforcing the statute. Appellant sought to represent a class consisting of unmarried "minor women who are suffering unwanted pregnancies and desire to terminate the pregnancies but may not do so" because of their physicians' insistence on complying with § 76-7-304(2). The trial judge declined to grant a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction.5

The trial judge held a hearing at which appellant was the only witness. Appellant affirmed the allegations of the complaint by giving monosyllabic answers to her attorney's leading questions.6 However, when the State attempted to cross-examine appellant about her reasons for not wishing to notify her parents, appellant's counsel vigorously objected,7 insisting that "the specifics of the reasons are really irrelevant to the Constitutional issue."8 The only constitutionally permissible prerequisites for performance of an abortion, he insisted, were the desire of the girl and the medical approval of a physician.9 The trial judge sustained the objection, tentatively construing the statute to require appellant's physician to notify her parents "if he is able to physically contact them."

Thereafter, the trial judge entered findings of fact and conclusions of law. He concluded that appellant "is an appropriate representative to represent the class she purports to represent."10 He construed the statute to require notice to appellant's parents "if it is physically possible." He concluded that § 76-7-304(2) "do[es] not unconstitutionally restrict the right of privacy of a minor to obtain an abortion or to enter into a doctor-patient relationship."11 Accordingly, he dismissed the complaint.

On appeal, the Supreme Court of Utah unanimously upheld the statute. 604 P.2d 907 (1979). Relying on our decisions in Planned Parenthood of Central Mo. v. Danforth, 428 U.S. 52, 96 S.Ct. 2831, 49 L.Ed.2d 788 (1976), Carey v. Population Services International, 431 U.S. 678, 97 S.Ct. 2010, 52 L.Ed.2d 675 (1977), and Bellotti v. Baird, 443 U.S. 622, 99 S.Ct. 3035, 61 L.Ed.2d 797 (1979) (Bellotti II ), the court concluded that the statute serves "significant state interest[s]" that are present with respect to minors but absent in the case of adult women.

The court looked first to subsection (1) of § 76-7-304. This provision, the court observed, expressly incorporates the factors we identified in Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179, 93 S.Ct. 739, 35 L.Ed.2d 201 (1973), as pertinent to exercise of a physician's best medical judgment in making an abortion decision. In Doe, we stated:

"We agree with the District Court . . . that the medical judgment may be exercised in the light of all factors physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman's § age—relevant to the well-being of the patient. All these factors may relate to health. This allows the attending physician the room he needs to make his best medical judgment." Id. at 192, 93 S.Ct. at 747 (emphasis supplied).

Section 76-7-304(1) of the Utah statute suggests that the legislature sought to reflect the language of Doe.

The Utah Supreme Court held that notifying the parents of a minor seeking an abortion is "substantially and logically related" to the Doe factors set out in § 76-7-304(1) because parents ordinarily possess information essential to a physician's exercise of his best medical judgment concerning the child. 604 P.2d, at 909-910. The court also concluded that encouraging an unmarried pregnant minor to seek the advice of her parents in making the decision of whether to carry her child to term promotes a significant state interest in supporting the important role of parents in child-rearing. Id., at 912. The court reasoned that since the statute allows no veto power over the minor's decision, it does not unduly intrude upon a minor's rights.

The Utah Supreme Court also rejected appellant's argument that the phrase "if possible" in § 76-7-304(2) should be construed to give the physician discretion whether to notify appellant's parents. The court concluded that the physician is required to notify parents "if under the circumstances, in the exercise of reasonable diligence, he can ascertain their identity and location and it is feasible or practicable to give them notification." The court added, however, that "the time element is an important factor, for there must be sufficient expedition to provide an effective opportunity for an abortion." 604 P.2d, at 913.

Appellant challenges the statute as unconstitutional on its face. She contends it is overbroad in that it can be construed to apply to all unmarried minor girls, including those who are mature and emancipated. We need not reach that question since she did not allege or proffer any evidence that either she or any member of her class is mature or emancipated.12 The trial court found that appellant "is unmarried, fifteen years of age, resides at home and is a dependent of her parents." That affords an insufficient basis for a finding that she is either mature or emancipated. Under Harris v. McRae, 448 U.S. 297, 320, 100 S.Ct. 2671, 2690, 65 L.Ed.2d 784 (1980), she therefore lacks "the personal stake in the controversy needed to confer standing" to advance the overbreadth argument.

There are particularly strong reasons for applying established rules of standing in this case. The United States District Court for Utah has held that § 76-7-304(2) does not apply to emancipated minors and that, if so applied, it would be unconstitutional. L. R. v. Hansen, Civil No. C-80-0078J (Feb. 8, 1980). Since there was no appeal from that ruling, it is controlling on the State. We cannot assume that the statute, when challenged in a proper case, will not be construed also to exempt demonstrably mature minors.13 See Bellotti v. Baird, 428 U.S. 132, 146-148, 96 S.Ct. 2857, 2865-2867, 49 L.Ed.2d 844 (1976) (Bellotti I ). Nor is there any reason to assume that a minor in need of emergency treatment will be treated in any way different from a similarly situated adult.14 The Utah Supreme Court has had no occasion to consider the application of the statute to such situations. InBellotti I, supra we unanimously declined to pass on constitutional challenges to an abortion regulation statute because the statute was "susceptible of a construction by the state judiciary 'which might avoid in whole or in part the necessity for federal constitutional adjudication, or at least materially change the nature of the problem.' " Id., at 147, 96 S.Ct., at 2866, quotingHarrison v. NAACP, 360 U.S. 167, 177, 79 S.Ct. 1025, 1030, 3 L.Ed.2d 1152 (1959). See Kleppe v. New Mexico, 426 U.S. 529, 546-547, 96 S.Ct. 2285, 2295, 49 L.Ed.2d 34 (1976); Ashwander v. TVA, 297 U.S. 288, 346-347, 56 S.Ct. 466, 482-483, 80 L.Ed. 688 (1936) (concurring opinion). We reaffirm that approach and find it controlling here insofar as appellant challenges a purported statutory exclusion of mature and emancipated minors.

The only issue before us, then, is the facial constitutionality of a statute requiring a physician to give notice to parents, "if possible," prior to performing an abortion on their minor daughter, (a) when the girl is living with and dependent upon her parents, (b) when she is not emancipated by marriage or otherwise, and (c) when she has made no claim or showing as to her maturity or as to her relations with her parents.

Appellant contends the statute violates the right to privacy recognized in our prior cases with respect to abortions. She places primary reliance on Bellotti II, 443 U.S., at 642, 655, 99 S.Ct., at 3047-3048, 3054. In Danforth, we struck down state statutes that imposed a requirement of prior written consent of the patient's spouse and of a minor patient's parents as a prerequisite for an abortion. We held that a state

"does not have the constitutional authority to give a third party an absolute, and possibly arbitrary, veto over the decision of the physician and his patient to terminate the patient's pregnancy, regardless of the reason for withholding the consent." 428 U.S., at 74, 96 S.Ct., at 2843.

We emphasized, however, "that our holding . . . does not suggest that every minor, regardless of age or maturity, may give effective consent for termination of her pregnancy." Id., at 75, 96 S.Ct., at 2844, citing Bellotti I, supra. There is no logical relationship between the capacity to become pregnant and the capacity for mature judgment concerning the wisdom of an abortion.

In Bellotti II, dealing with a class of concededly mature pregnant minors, we struck down a Massachusetts statute requiring parental or judicial consent before an abortion could be performed on any unmarried minor. There the State's highest court had construed the statute to allow a court to overrule the minor's decision even if the court found that the minor was capable of making, and in fact had made, an informed and reasonable decision to have an abortion. We held, among other things, that the statue was unconstitutional for failure to allow mature minors to decide to undergo abortions without parental consent. Four Justices concluded that the flaws in the statute were that, as construed by the state court, (a) it permitted overruling of a mature minor's decision to abort her pregnancy; and (b) "it requires parental consultation or notification in every instance, without affording the pregnant minor an opportunity to receive an independent judicial determination that she is mature enough to consent or that an abortion would be in her best interests." 443 U.S., at 651, 99 S.Ct., at 3052-3053. Four other Justices concluded that the defect was in making the abortion decision of a minor subject to veto by a third party, whether parent or judge, "no matter how mature and capable of informed decisionmaking" the minor might be. Id., at 653-656, 99 S.Ct., at 3053-3055.

Although we have held that a state may not constitutionally legislate a blanket, unreviewable power of parents to veto their daughter's abortion,15 a statute setting out a "mere requirement of parental notice" does not violate the constitutional rights of an immature, dependent minor.16 Four Justices in Bellotti II joined in stating:

"[Plaintiffs] suggest . . . that the mere requirement of parental notice [unduly burdens the right to seek an abortion]. As stated in Part II above, however, parental notice and consent are qualifications that typically may be imposed by the State on a minor's right to make important decisions. As immature minors often lack the ability to make fully informed choices that take account of both immediate and long-range consequences, a State reasonably may determine that parental consultation often is desirable and in the best interest of the minor.

It may further determine, as a general proposition, that such consultation is particularly desirable with respect to the abortion decision—one that for some people raises profound moral and religious concerns.. . .

" 'There can be little doubt that the State furthers a constitutionally permissible end by encouraging an unmarried pregnant minor to seek the help and advice of her parents in making the very important decision whether or not to bear a child. That is a grave decision, and a girl of tender years, under emotional stress, may be ill-equipped to make it without mature advice and emotional support. It seems unlikely that she will obtain adequate counsel and support from the attending physician at an abortion clinic, where abortions for pregnant minors frequently take place.' " Id., at 640-641, 99 S.Ct., at 3046-3047 (footnotes omitted), quoting Danforth, 428 U.S., at 91, 96 S.Ct., at 2851 (concurring opinion).

Accord, 443 U.S., at 657, 99 S.Ct., at 3055 (dissenting opinion).

In addition, "constitutional interpretation has consistently recognized that the parents' claim to authority in their own household to direct the rearing of their children is basic in the structure of our society." Ginsberg v. New York, 390 U.S. 629, 639, 88 S.Ct. 1274, 1280, 20 L.Ed.2d 195 (1968). In Quilloin v. Walcott, 434 U.S. 246, 98 S.Ct. 549, 54 L.Ed.2d 511 (1978), the Court expanded on this theme:

"We have recognized on numerous occasions that the relationship between parent and child is constitutionally protected. See, e. g., Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 231-233 [92 S.Ct. 1526, 1541-1542, 32 L.Ed.2d 15] (1972); Stanley v. Illinois [405 U.S. 645, 92 S.Ct. 1208, 31 L.Ed.2d 551 (1972)]; Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, 399-401 [43 S.Ct. 625, 626-627, 67 L.Ed. 1042] (1923). 'It is cardinal with us that the custody, care and nurture of the child reside first in the parents, whose primary function and freedom include preparation for obligations the state can neither supply nor hinder.' "

Id., at 255, 98 S.Ct. at 554-555, quoting Prince v. Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 158, 166, 64 S.Ct. 438, 442, 88 L.Ed. 645 (1944).

See also Parham v. J. R., 442 U.S. 584, 602, 99 S.Ct. 2493, 2504, 61 L.Ed.2d 101 (1979); Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510, 535, 45 S.Ct. 571, 573-574, 69 L.Ed. 1070 (1925). We have recognized that parents have an important "guiding role" to play in the upbringing of their children, Bellotti II, supra, at 633-639, 99 S.Ct., at 3043-3046, which presumptively includes counseling them on important decisions.

The Utah statute gives neither parents nor judges a veto power over the minor's abortion decision.17 As in Bellotti I, supra, "we are concerned with a statute directed toward minors, as to whom there are unquestionably greater risks of inability to give an informed consent." 428 U.S., at 147, 96 S.Ct., at 2866. As applied to immature and dependent minors, the statute plainly serves the important considerations of family integrity18 and protecting adolescents19 which we identified in Bellotti II. In addition, as applied to that class, the statute serves a significant state interest by providing an opportunity for parents to supply essential medical and other information to a physician. The medical, emotional, and psychological consequences of an abortion are serious and can be lasting; this is particularly so when the patient is immature.20 An adequate medical and psychological case history is important to the physician. Parents can provide medical and psychological data, refer the physician to other sources of medical history, such as family physicians, and authorize family physicians to give relevant data.

Appellant intimates that the statute's failure to declare, in terms, a detailed description of what information parents may provide to physicians, or to provide for a mandatory period of delay after the physician notifies the parents,21 renders the statute unconstitutional. The notion that the statute must itemize information to be supplied by parents finds no support in logic, experience, or our decisions. And as the Utah Supreme Court recognized, 604 P.2d, at 913, time is likely to be of the essence in an abortion decision. The Utah statute is reasonably calculated to protect minors in appellant's class by enhancing the potential for parental consultation concerning a decision that has potentially traumatic and permanent consequences.22

Appellant also contends that the constitutionality of the statute is undermined because Utah allows a pregnant minor to consent to other medical procedures without formal notice to her parents if she carries the child to term.23 But a state's interests in full-term pregnancies are sufficiently different to justify the line drawn by the statutes. Cf. Maher v. Roe, 432 U.S. 464, 473-474, 97 S.Ct. 2376, 2382, 53 L.Ed.2d 484 (1977). If the pregnant girl elects to carry her child to term, the medical decisions to be made entail few—perhaps none—of the potentially grave emotional and psychological consequences of the decision to abort.

That the requirement of notice to parents may inhibit some minors from seeking abortions is not a valid basis to void the statute as applied to appellant and the class properly before us. The Constitution does not compel a state to fine-tune its statutes so as to encourage or facilitate abortions. To the contrary, state action "encouraging childbirth except in the most urgent circumstances" is "rationally related to the legitimate governmental objective of protecting potential life." Harris v. McRae, 448 U.S., at 325, 100 S.Ct., at 2692. Accord, Maher v. Roe, supra, at 473-474, 97 S.Ct., at 2382.24

As applied to the class properly before us, the statute plainly serves important state interests, is narrowly drawn to protect only those interests, and does not violate any guarantees of the Constitution.25 The judgment of the Supreme Court of Utah is

Affirmed.

Justice POWELL, with whom Justice STEWART joins, concurring.

* This case requires the Court to consider again the divisive questions raised by a state statute intended to encourage parental involvement in the decision of a pregnant minor to have an abortion. See Planned Parenthood of Central Mo. v. Danforth, 428 U.S. 52, 96 S.Ct. 2831, 49 L.Ed.2d 788 (1976); Bellotti v. Baird, 443 U.S. 622, 99 S.Ct. 3035, 61 L.Ed.2d 797 (1979) (Bellotti II ). I agree with the Court that Utah Code Ann. § 76-7-304(2) (1978) does not unconstitutionally burden this appellant's right to an abortion. I join the opinion of the Court on the understanding that it leaves open the question whether § 76-7-304(2) unconstitutionally burdens the right of a mature minor or a minor whose best interests would not be served by parental notification. See ante, at 412, n. 22. I write to make clear that I continue to entertain the views on this question stated in my opinion in Bellotti II. See n. 8, infra.

Section 76-7-304(2) requires that a physician "[n]otify, if possible, the parents or guardian of the woman upon whom the abortion is to be performed, if she is a minor."1 Appellant attacks this notice requirement on the ground that it burdens the right of a minor who is emancipated, or who is mature enough to make the abortion decision independently of parental involvement, or whose parents will react obstructively upon notice. See ante, at 405. The threshold question, as the Court's opinion notes, is whether appellant has standing to make such a challenge. Standing depends initially on what the complaint alleges, Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 498, 501, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 2204-2205, 2206, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975), as courts have the power "only to redress or otherwise to protect against injury to the complaining party." Id., at 499, 95 S.Ct., at 2205. The complaint in this case was carefully drawn. Appellant's allegations about herself and her familial situation are few and laconic. She alleged that she did "not wish to inform her parents of her condition and believe[d] that it [was] in her best interest that her parents not be informed of her condition." Complaint ¶ 6. She also alleged that she understood "what is involved in her decision," ¶ 9, and that the physician she consulted had told her that "he could not and would not perform an abortion upon her without informing her parents prior to aborting her." ¶ 7.

Appellant was 15 years of age and lived at home with her parents when she filed her complaint. She did not claim to be mature, and made no allegations with respect to her relationship with her parents. She did not aver that they would be obstructive if notified, or advance any other reason why notice to her parents would not be in her best interest. Similarly, the complaint contains no allegation that the physician—while apparently willing to perform the abortion—believed that notifying her parents would have adverse consequences. In fact, nothing in the record shows that the physician had any information about appellant's parents or familial situation, or even that he had examined appellant.

This case does not come to us on the allegations of the complaint alone. An evidentiary hearing occurred after the trial court had denied appellant's motion for a preliminary injunction. Appellant was the only witness, and her testimony—and statements by her counsel—make clear beyond any question that the "bare bones" averments of the complaint were deliberate, and that appellant is arguing that a mere notice requirement is invalid per se without regard to the minor's age, whether she is emancipated, whether her parents are likely to be obstructive, or whether there is some health or other reason why notification would not be in the minor's best interests.

On direct examination, appellant merely verified the allegations of her complaint by affirming each allegation as paraphrased for her by her lawyer in a series of leading questions.2 Her testimony on cross-examination added nothing to the complaint.3 In addition, appellant's lawyer insistently objected to all questions by counsel for the State as to the appellant's reasons for not wishing to notify her parents.4 The trial court, on its own initiative, pressed unsuccessfully to elicit some reasons, inquiring how it could "find out the validity of [appellant's] reasons without [the State's lawyer] being permitted to cross-examine her." Tr. 9. Appellant's lawyer replied:

"It is our position [c]onstitutionally that she has the right to make [the abortion] decision and if she has consulted with a counselor and the counselor concurs that those are valid reasons, why then—

* * * * *

"In terms of going beyond [the complaint allegations], our point is that the specifics of the reasons are really irrelevant to the constitutional issue." Id., at 9-10 (emphasis supplied).

When appellant's lawyer insisted that the facts with respect to this particular minor were irrelevant, the trial court sustained the validity of the statute.5

In sum, and as the Court's opinion emphasizes, appellant alleges nothing more than that she desires an abortion, that she has decided—for reasons which she declined to reveal—that it is in her best interest not to notify her parents, and that a physician would be willing to perform the abortion if notice were not required. Although the trial court did not rule in terms of standing, it is clear that these bald allegations do not confer standing to claim that § 76-7-304(2) unconstitutionally burdens the right either of a mature minor or of a minor whose best interests would not be served by parental notification.6 They confer standing only to claim that § 76-7-304(2) is an unconstitutional burden upon an unemancipated minor who desires an abortion without parental notification but also desires not to explain to anyone her reasons either for wanting the abortion or for not wanting to notify her parents.7

On the facts of this case, I agree with the Court that § 76-7-304(2) is not an unconstitutional burden on appellant's right to an abortion. Numerous and significant interests compete when a minor decides whether or not to abort her pregnancy. The right to make that decision may not be unconstitutionally burdened. Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 154, 93 S.Ct. 705, 727, 35 L.Ed.2d 147 (1973); Planned Parenthood of Central Mo. v. Danforth, 428 U.S., at 74-75, 96 S.Ct., at 2843-2844. In addition, the minor has an interest in effectuating her decision to abort, if that is the decision she makes. Id., at 75, 96 S.Ct., at 2844; Bellotti II, 443 U.S., at 647, 99 S.Ct., at 3035. The State, aside from the interest it has in encouraging childbirth rather than abortion, cf. Maher v. Roe, 432 U.S. 464, 97 S.Ct. 2376, 53 L.Ed.2d 484 (1977); Harris v. McRae, 448 U.S. 297, 100 S.Ct. 2671, 65 L.Ed.2d 784 (1980), has an interest in fostering such consultation as will assist the minor in making her decision as wisely as possible. Planned Parenthood of Central Mo. v. Danforth, supra, 428 U.S., at 91, 96 S.Ct., at 2851 (STEWART, J., concurring); post, at 422-423 (STEVENS, J., concurring in judgment). The State also may have an interest in the family itself, the institution through which "we inculcate and pass down many of our most cherished values, moral and cultural." Moore v. East Cleveland, 431 U.S. 494, 503-504, 97 S.Ct. 1932, 1937-1938, 52 L.Ed.2d 531 (1977). Parents have a traditional and substantial interest in, as well as a responsibility for, the rearing and welfare of their children, especially during immature years. Bellotti II, supra, 443 U.S., at 637-639, 99 S.Ct., at 3045-3046.

None of these interests is absolute. Even an adult woman's right to an abortion is not unqualified. Roe v. Wade, supra, 410 U.S., at 154, 93 S.Ct., at 727. Particularly when a minor becomes pregnant and considers an abortion, the relevant circumstances may vary widely depending upon her age, maturity, mental and physical condition, the stability of her home if she is not emancipated, her relationship with her parents, and the like. If we were to accept appellant's claim that § 76-7-304(2) is per se an invalid burden on the asserted right of a minor to make the abortion decision, the circumstances which normally are relevant would—as her counsel insisted—be immaterial. Supra, at 417. The Court would have to decide that the minor's wishes are virtually absolute. To be sure, our cases have emphasized the necessity to consult a physician. But we have never held with respect to a minor that the opinion of a single physician as to the need or desirability of an abortion outweighs all state and parental interests.8

In sum, a State may not validly require notice to parents in all cases, without providing an independent decisionmaker to whom a pregnant minor can have recourse if she believes that she is mature enough to make the abortion decision independently or that notification otherwise would not be in her best interests. My opinion in Bellotti II, joined by three other Justices, stated at some length the reasons why such a decisionmaker is needed. Bellotti II, supra, 443 U.S., at 642-648, 99 S.Ct., at 3047-3051.9 The circumstances relevant to the abortion decision by a minor can and do vary so substantially that absolute rules requiring parental notice in all cases or in none10—would create an inflexibility that often would allow for no consideration of the rights and interests identified above. Our cases have never gone to this extreme, and in my view should not.

Justice STEVENS, concurring in the judgment.

As the Court points out, this is a class action in which the appellant represents all unmarried " 'minor women who are suffering unwanted pregnancies and desire to terminate the pregnancies but may not do so' because of their physicians' insistence on complying with § 76-7-304(2)" of the Utah Code. Ante, at 401. The Utah Supreme Court held that the statute may validly be applied to all members of that class. This appeal therefore squarely presents the question whether that holding is consistent with the Constitution of the United States. The Court, however, declines to reach this question and instead decides the narrower question presented by the appellant's particular factual situation. Because I believe we have a duty to answer the broader question decided by the Utah Supreme Court, I am unable to join the opinion of the Court.

In Planned Parenthood of Central Mo. v. Danforth, 428 U.S. 52, 72-75, 96 S.Ct. 2831, 2842-2844, 49 L.Ed.2d 788 (1976), the Court held that a pregnant minor's right to make the decision to obtain an abortion may not be conditioned on parental consent. My dissent from that holding, id., at 102-105, 96 S.Ct., at 2856-2857, does not qualify my duty to respect it as a part of our law. See Bellotti v. Baird, 443 U.S. 622, 652-656, 99 S.Ct. 3035, 3053-3055, 61 L.Ed.2d 797 (1979) (STEVENS, J., concurring in judgment). However, as I noted in Bellotti, neither that case nor Danforth "determines the constitutionality of a statute which does no more than require notice to the parents, without affording them or any other third party an absolute veto." 443 U.S., at 654, n. 1, 99 S.Ct., at 3053, n. 1. Since the outcome in this case is not controlled by Danforth, the principles that I considered dispositive of the parental consent issue in that case plainly dictate that the Utah statute now before us be upheld.

The fact that a state statute may have some impact upon a minor's exercise of his or her rights begins, rather than ends, the constitutional inquiry. Once the statute's impact is identified, it must be evaluated in light of the state interests underlying the statute. The state interest that the Utah statute at issue in this case attempts to advance is essentially the same state interest considered in Danforth. As I noted in Danforth, that interest is fundamental and substantial:

"The State's interest in the welfare of its young citizens justifies a variety of protective measures. Because he may not foresee the consequences of his decision, a minor may not make an enforceable bargain. He may not lawfully work or travel where he pleases, or even attend exhibitions of constitutionally protected adult motion pictures. Persons below a certain age may not marry without parental consent. Indeed, such consent is essential even when the young woman is already pregnant. The State's interest in protecting a young person from harm justifies the imposition of restraints on his or her freedom even though comparable restraints on adults would be constitutionally impermissible. Therefore, the holding in Roe v. Wade [410 U.S. 113, 93 S.Ct. 705, 35 L.Ed.2d 147 (1973)] that the abortion decision is entitled to constitutional protection merely emphasizes the importance of the decision; it does not lead to the conclusion that the state legislature has no power to enact legislation for the purpose of protecting a young pregnant woman from the consequences of an incorrect decision.

"The abortion decision is, of course, more important than the decision to attend or to avoid an adult motion picture, or the decision to work long hours in a factory. It is not necessarily any more important than the decision to run away from home or the decision to marry. But even if it is the most important kind of a decision a young person may ever make, that assumption merely enhances the quality of the State's interest in maximizing the probability that the decision be made correctly and with full understanding of the consequences of either alternative." 428 U.S., at 102-103, 96 S.Ct., at 2857.

In my opinion, the special importance of a young woman's abortion decision, emphasized by Justice MARSHALL in dissent, post, at 435-436, provides a special justification for reasonable state efforts intended to ensure that the decision be wisely made. Such reasonable efforts surely may include a requirement that an abortion be procured only after consultation with a licensed physician. And, because "the most significant consequences of the [abortion] decision are not medical in character," 428 U.S., at 103, 96 S.Ct. at 2856, the State unquestionably has an interest in ensuring that a young woman receive other appropriate consultation as well. In my opinion, the quality of that interest is plainly sufficient to support a state legislature's determination that such appropriate consultation should include parental advice.

Of course, a conclusion that the Utah statute is invalid would not prevent young pregnant women from voluntarily seeking the advice of their parents prior to making the abortion decision. But the State may legitimately decide that such consultation should be made more probable by ensuring that parents are informed of their daughter's decision:

"If there is no parental-[notice] requirement, many minors will submit to the abortion procedure without ever informing their parents. An assumption that the parental reaction will be hostile, disparaging, or violent no doubt persuades many children simply to bypass parental counsel which would in fact be loving, supportive, and, indeed, for some indispensable. It is unrealistic, in my judgment, to assume that every parent-child relationship is either (a) so perfect that communication and accord will take place routinely or (b) so imperfect that the absence of communication reflects the child's correct prediction that the parent will . . . [act] arbitrarily to further a selfish interest rather than the child's interest. A state legislature may conclude that most parents will be primarily interested in the welfare of their children,1 and further, that the imposition of a parental-[notice] requirement is an appropriate method of giving the parents an opportunity to foster that welfare by helping a pregnant distressed child to make and to implement a correct decision." Id., at 103-104, 96 S.Ct., at 2856-2857. (STEVENS, J.).

Utah's interest in its parental-notice statute is not diminished by the fact that there can be no guarantee that meaningful parent-child consultation will actually occur. Good-faith compliance with the statute's requirements would tend to facilitate communication between daughters and parents regarding the abortion decision. The possibility that some parents will not react with compassion and understanding upon being informed of their daughter's predicament or that, even if they are receptive, they will incorrectly advise her, does not undercut the legitimacy of the State's attempt to establish a procedure that will enhance the probability that a pregnant young woman exercise as wisely as possible her right to make the abortion decision.

The fact that certain members of the class of unmarried "minor women who are suffering unwanted pregnancies and desire to terminate the pregnancies" may actually be emancipated or sufficiently mature to make a well-reasoned abortion decision does not, in my view, undercut the validity of the Utah statute. As I stated in Danforth, a state legislature has constitutional power to utilize, for purposes of implementing a parental-notice requirement, a yardstick based upon the chronological age of unmarried pregnant women. That this yardstick will be imprecise or even unjust in particular cases does not render its use by a state legislature impermissible under the Federal Constitution. 428 U.S., at 104-105, 96 S.Ct. at 2857. Accordingly, I would reach the question reserved by the Court and hold that the Utah parental-notice statute is constitutionally valid as applied to all members of the certified class.2

Because my view in this case, as in Danforth, is that the State's interest in protecting a young pregnant woman from the consequences of an incorrect abortion decision is sufficient to justify the parental-notice requirement, I agree that the decision of the Utah Supreme Court should be affirmed.

Justice MARSHALL, with whom Justice BRENNAN and Justice BLACKMUN join, dissenting.

The decision of the Court is narrow. It finds shortcomings in appellant's complaint and therefore denies relief. Thus, the Court sends out a clear signal that more carefully drafted pleadings could secure both a plaintiff's standing to challenge the overbreadth of Utah Code Ann. § 76-7-304(2) (1978), and success on the merits.1

Nonetheless, I dissent. I believe that even if the complaint is defective, the majority's legal analysis is incorrect and it yields an improper disposition here. More important, I cannot agree with the majority's view of the complaint, or its standing analysis. I therefore would reverse the judgment of the Supreme Court of Utah.

* The Court finds appellant's complaint defective because it fails to allege that she is mature or emancipated, and neglects to specify her reasons for wishing to avoid notifying her parents about her abortion decision. As a result, the Court reasons, appellant lacks standing to challenge the overbreadth of the Utah parental notification statute.2

The majority's standing analysis rests on prudential concerns and not on the constitutional limitations set by Art. III. See Gladstone, Realtors v. Village of Bellwood, 441 U.S. 91, 99-100, 99 S.Ct. 1601, 1607, 60 L.Ed.2d 66 (1979); Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 498-499, 517-518, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 2204-2205, 2214-2215, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975). For the Court does not question that appellant's injury due to the statute's requirement falls within the legally protected ambit of her privacy interest, and that the relief requested would remedy the harm. See ante, at 407-409 (majority opinion); ante, at 418-419 (opinion of POWELL, J.). The Court decides only that appellant cannot challenge the blanket nature of the statute because she neglected to allege that by her personal characteristics, she is a member of particular groups that undoubtedly deserve exemption from a parental notice requirement.3 Thus, the Court seems to apply the familiar prudential principle that an individual should not be heard to raise the rights of other persons. This principle, of course, has not precluded standing in other instances where, as here, the party has established the requisite and legally protected interest capable of redress through the relief requested.4 See, e. g., Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, 438 U.S. 59, 80-81, 98 S.Ct. 2620, 2634-2635, 57 L.Ed.2d 595 (1978); Singleton v. Wulff, 428 U.S. 106, 113-118, 96 S.Ct. 2868, 2873-2874, 49 L.Ed.2d 826 (1976) (plurality opinion of BLACKMUN, J.); Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179, 188-189, 93 S.Ct. 739, 745-746, 35 L.Ed.2d 201 (1973); Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 481, 85 S.Ct. 1678, 1680, 14 L.Ed.2d 510 (1965); NAACP v. Alabama, 357 U.S. 449, 459-460, 78 S.Ct. 1163, 1170-1171, 2 L.Ed.2d 1488 (1958); Barrows v. Jackson, 346 U.S. 249, 259, 73 S.Ct. 1031, 1036, 97 L.Ed. 1586 (1953).

I do not believe that prudential considerations should bar standing here, for I am persuaded that appellant's complaint establishes a claim that notifying her parents would not be in her best interests.5 She alleged that she "believes that it is in her best interest that her parents not be informed of her [pregnant] condition," Complaint ¶ 6, App. 4, and that after consulting with her physician, attorney, and social worker, "she understands what is involved in her decision" to seek an abortion, Complaint ¶ 9, App. 4.6 This claim was further supported, albeit without detail, at the evidentiary hearing. There appellant testified she did not feel she could discuss the abortion decision with her parents even after she consulted a social worker on the issue. Tr. 8, App. 26.7 In my judgment, appellant has adequately asserted that she has persistently held reasons for believing parental notice would not be in her best interests. This provides a sufficient basis for standing to raise the challenge in her complaint. Appellant seeks to challenge a state statute, construed definitively by the highest court of that State to permit no exception to the notice requirement on the basis of any reasons offered by the minor. 604 P.2d 907, 913 (Utah 1979). As standing is a jurisdictional issue, separate and distinct from the merits, a court need not evaluate the persuasiveness of her reasons for opposing parental notice to conclude that appellant has a concrete interest in determining whether the parental notice statute is valid.8

Yet even if the Court's view of appellant's complaint is correct, and even if prudence calls for denying her standing to raise the overbreadth claim, the Court erroneously concludes that the class represented by appellant suffers the identical standing disability. In so doing, the Court is apparently indifferent to the federalism or comity issues arising when this Court presumes to supervise the procedural determinations made by a state trial court under state law. Even if application of federal law governing class actions were appropriate in this case, the majority misapplies federal law by disturbing the class definition as approved by the trial court. The Court acknowledges, ante, at 401, 404 (BURGER, C.J.); ante, at 417, n. 6 (POWELL, J.), that the trial court granted appellant's motion to represent a class, and it is undisputed that this class includes all "minor women who are suffering unwanted pregnancies and desire to terminate the pregnancies but may not do so inasmuch as their physicians will not perform an abortion upon them without compliance with the provisions of Section 76-7-304(2)." Complaint ¶ 10, App. 5. This class by definition includes all minor women, self-supporting or dependent, sophisticated or naive, as long as the Utah statute interferes with the ability of these women to decide with their physicians to obtain abortions. If the Court is correct that appellant cannot raise challenges based on the interest of emancipated or mature minors, or others whose best interests call for avoiding parental notification, the proper disposition under federal law would be a remand. This remand would protect such class members by permitting the trial court to determine whether appellant is a proper and adequate class representative, and whether her claims are sufficiently similar to the class to warrant the class action.9 Since the trial court enjoys considerable latitude in approving class actions, such a remand is appropriate only on those rare occasions where the reviewing court discerns an abuse of discretion.10 But where an abuse of discretion is clear from the record, remand should ensue, and could result in redefinition or dismissal of the class, addition of other named plaintiffs to represent interests appellant cannot advance, or creation of subclasses with additional representative parties.11 In contrast, it is improper to assume appellant adequately represents the entire class as defined by the trial court, but redefine the class appellant is deemed to represent, and deny relief on that basis.12 Nonetheless, that is exactly the course selected by the majority today.

I instead assume that appellant adequately represents the class which the trial judge concluded she represents—all minor women seeking an abortion but finding the parental notice requirement an obstacle. I then would find that their rights and interests can be raised here by appellant in support of a facial challenge to the Utah statute, and conduct the appropriate review of appellant's claims. II

Because the Court's treatment is so cursory, I review appellant's claims with due attention to our precedents.

Our cases have established that a pregnant woman has a fundamental right to choose whether to obtain an abortion or carry the pregnancy to term. Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, 93 S.Ct. 705, 35 L.Ed.2d 147 (1973); Doe v. Bolton, 410 U.S. 179, 93 S.Ct. 739, 35 L.Ed.2d 201 (1973).13 Her choice, like the deeply intimate decisions to marry,"14 to procreate,15 and to use contraceptives,16 is guarded from unwarranted state intervention by the right to privacy.17 Grounded in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the right to privacy18 protects both the woman's "interest in independence in making certain kinds of important decisions" and her "individual interest in avoiding disclosure of personal matters." Whalen v. Roe, 429 U.S. 589, 599-600, 97 S.Ct. 869, 876-877, 51 L.Ed.2d 64 (1977).

In the abortion context, we have held that the right to privacy shields the woman from undue state intrusion in, and external scrutiny of, her very personal choice. Thus, in Roe v. Wade, supra, at 164, 93 S.Ct., at 732, we held that during the first trimester of the pregnancy, the State's interests in protecting maternal health or the potential life of the fetus could not override the right of the pregnant woman and the attending physician to make the abortion decision through private, unfettered consultation. We further emphasized the restricted scope of permissible state action in this area when, in Doe v. Bolton, supra, at 198-200, 93 S.Ct., at 750-751, we struck down state-imposed procedural requirements that subjected the woman's private decision with her physician to review by other physicians and a hospital committee.

It is also settled that the right to privacy, like many constitutional rights,19 extends to minors. Planned Parenthood of Central Mo. v. Danforth, 428 U.S. 52, 96 S.Ct. 2831, 49 L.Ed.2d 788 (1976); Bellotti v. Baird, 443 U.S. 622, 639, 99 S.Ct. 3035, 3046, 61 L.Ed.2d 797 (1979) (Bellotti II ) (POWELL, J.); id., at 653, 99 S.Ct., at 3053 (STEVENS, J.); T. H. v. Jones, 425 F.Supp. 873, 881 (Utah 1975), summarily aff'd on other grounds, 425 U.S. 986, 96 S.Ct. 2195, 48 L.Ed.2d 811 (1976). Indeed, because an unwanted pregnancy is probably more of a crisis for a minor than for an adult, as the abortion decision cannot be postponed until her majority, "there are few situations in which denying a minor the right to make an important decision will have consequences so grave and indelible." Bellotti II, supra, at 646, 99 S.Ct., at 3048 (POWELL, J.).20 Thus, for both the adult and the minor woman, state-imposed burdens on the abortion decision can be justified only upon a showing that the restrictions advance "important state interests." Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S., at 154, 93 S.Ct., at 727, accord, Planned Parenthood of Central Mo. v. Danforth, supra, at 61, 96 S.Ct., at 2837. Before examining the state interests asserted here, it is necessary first to consider Utah's claim that its statute does not "imping[e] on a woman's decision to have an abortion" or "plac[e] obstacles in the path of effectuating such a decision." Brief for Appellees 9. This requires an examination of whether the parental notice requirement of the Utah statute imposes any burdens on the abortion decision.

The ideal of a supportive family so pervades our culture that it may seem incongruous to examine "burdens" imposed by a statute requiring parental notice of a minor daughter's decision to terminate her pregnancy.21 This Court has long deferred to the bonds which join family members for mutual sustenance. See Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510, 534-535, 45 S.Ct. 571, 573, 69 L.Ed. 1070 (1925); May v. Anderson, 345 U.S. 528, 533, 73 S.Ct. 840, 843, 97 L.Ed. 1221 (1953); Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S., at 486, 85 S.Ct., at 1682; Stanley v. Illinois, 405 U.S. 645, 651, 92 S.Ct. 1208, 1212, 31 L.Ed.2d 551 (1972); Moore v. East Cleveland, 431 U.S. 494, 504-505, 97 S.Ct. 1932, 1938-1939, 52 L.Ed.2d 531 (1977) (plurality opinion of POWELL, J.). Especially in times of adversity, the relationships within a family can offer the security of constant caring and aid. See id., at 505, 97 S.Ct., at 1938. Ideally, a minor facing an important decision will naturally seek advice and support from her parents, and they in turn will respond with comfort and wisdom.22 If the pregnant minor herself confides in her family, she plainly relinquishes her right to avoid telling or involving them. For a minor in that circumstance, the statutory requirement of parental notice hardly imposes a burden.

Realistically, however, many families do not conform to this ideal. Many minors, like appellant, oppose parental notice and seek instead to preserve the fundamental, personal right to privacy. It is for these minors that the parental notification requirement creates a problem. In this context, involving the minor's parents against her wishes23 effectively cancels her right to avoid disclosure of her personal choice. See Whalen v. Roe, 429 U.S., at 599-600, 97 S.Ct., at 876-877. Moreover, the absolute notice requirement publicizes her private consultation with her doctor and interjects additional parties in the very conference held confidential in Roe v. Wade, supra, at 164, 93 S.Ct., at 732. Besides revealing a confidential decision, the parental notice requirement may limit "access to the means of effectuating that decision." Carey v. Population Services International, 431 U.S. 678, 688, 97 S.Ct. 2010, 2017, 52 L.Ed.2d 675 (1977). Many minor women will encounter interference from their parents after the state-imposed notification.24 In addition to parental disappointment and disapproval, the minor may confront physical or emotional abuse, withdrawal of financial support, or actual obstruction of the abortion decision. Furthermore, the threat of parental notice may cause some minor women to delay past the first trimester of pregnancy, after which the health risks increase significantly.25 Other pregnant minors may attempt to self-abort or to obtain an illegal abortion rather than risk parental notification.26 Still others may foresakean abortion and bear an unwanted child, which, given the minor's "probable education, employment skills, financial resources and emotional maturity, . . . may be exceptionally burdensome." Bellotti II, 443 U.S., at 642, 99 S.Ct., at 3048 (POWELL, J.). The possibility that such problems may not occur in particular cases does not alter the hardship created by the notice requirement on its face.27 And that hardship is not a mere disincentive created by the State,28 but is instead an actual state-imposed obstacle to the exercise of the minor woman's free choice.29 For the class of pregnant minors represented by appellant, this obstacle is so onerous as to bar the desired abortions.30 Significantly, the interference sanctioned by the statute does not operate in a neutral fashion. No notice is required for other pregnancy-related medical care,31 so only the minor women who wish to abort encounter the burden imposed by the notification statute. Because the Utah requirement of mandatory parental notice unquestionably burdens the minor's privacy right, the proper analysis turns next to the State's proffered justifications for the infringements posed by the statute.

As established by this Court in Planned Parenthood of Central Missouri v. Danforth, supra, the statute cannot survive appellant's challenge unless it is justified by a "significant state interest."32 Further, the State must demonstrate that the means it selected are closely tailored to serve that interest.33 Where regulations burden the rights of pregnant adults, we have held that the state legitimately may be concerned with "protection of health, medical standards, and prenatal life." Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S., at 155, 93 S.Ct., at 728. We concluded, however, that during the first trimester of pregnancy none of these interests sufficiently justifies state interference with the decision reached by the pregnant woman and her physician. Id., at 162-163, 93 S.Ct., at 731. Nonetheless, appellees assert here that the parental notice requirement advances additional state interests not implicated by a pregnant adult's decision to abort. Specifically, appellees contend that the notice requirement improves the physician's medical judgment about a pregnant minor in two ways: it permits the parents to provide additional information to the physician, and it encourages consultation between the parents and the minor woman. Appellees also advance an independent state interest in preserving parental rights and family autonomy. I consider each of these asserted interests in turn.34

In upholding the statute, the Utah Supreme Court concluded that the notification provision might encourage parental transmission of "additional information, which might prove invaluable to the physician in exercising his 'best medical judgment.'"35 Yet neither the Utah courts nor the statute itself specifies the kind of information contemplated for this purpose, nor why it is available to the parents but not to the minor woman herself. Most parents lack the medical expertise necessary to supplement the physician's medical judgment, and at best could provide facts about the patient's medical history. It seems doubtful that a minor mature enough to become pregnant and to seek medical advice on her own initiative would be unable or unwilling to provide her physician with information crucial to the abortion decision. In addition, by law the physician already is obligated to obtain all information necessary to form his best medical judgment,36 and nothing bars consultation with the parents should the physician find it necessary.

Even if mandatory parental notice serves a substantial state purpose in this regard, the Utah statute fails to implement it. Simply put, the statute on its face does not require or even encourage the transfer of information; it does not even call for a conversation between the physician and the parents. A letter from the physician to the parents would satisfy the statute, as would a brief telephone call made moments before the abortion.37 Moreover, the statute is patently underinclusive if its aim is the transfer of information known to the parents but unavailable from the minor woman herself. The statute specifically excludes married minors from the parental notice requirement; only her husband need be told of the planned abortion, Utah Code Ann. § 76-7-304(2) (1978), and Utah makes no claim that he possesses any information valuable to the physician's judgment but unavailable from the pregnant woman. Furthermore, no notice is required for other pregnancy-related care sought by the minor. See Utah Code Ann. § 78-14-5(4)(f) (1977) (authorizing woman of any age to consent to pregnancy-related medical care). The minor woman may consent to surgical removal and analysis of amniotic fluid, caesarian delivery, and other medical care related to pregnancy. The physician's decisions concerning such procedures would be enhanced by parental information as much as would the abortion decision, yet only the abortion decision triggers the parental notice requirement. This result is especially anomalous given the comparatively lesser health risks associated with abortion as contrasted with other pregnancy-related medical care.38 Thus, the statute not only fails to promote the transfer of information as is claimed, it does not apply to other closely related contexts in which such exchange of information would be no less important. The goal of promoting consultation between the physician and the parents of the pregnant minor cannot sustain a statute that is so ill-fitted to serve it.39

Appellees also claim the statute serves the legitimate purpose of improving the minor's decision by encouraging consultation between the minor woman and her parents. Appellees do not dispute that the State cannot legally or practically require such consultation.40 Nor do appellees contest the fact that the decision is ultimately the minor's to make.41 Nonetheless, the State seeks through the notice requirement to give parents the opportunity to contribute to the minor woman's abortion decision.

Ideally, facilitation of supportive conversation would assist the pregnant minor during an undoubtedly difficult experience. Again, however, when measured against the rationality of the means employed, the Utah statute simply fails to advance this asserted goal. The statute imposes no requirement that the notice be sufficiently timely to permit any discussion between the pregnant minor and the parents. Moreover, appellant's claims require us to examine the statute's purpose in relation to the parents who the minor believes are likely to respond with hostility or opposition. In this light, the statute is plainly overbroad. Parental consultation hardly seems a legitimate state purpose where the minor's pregnancy resulted from incest, where a hostile or abusive parental response is assured, or where the minor's fears of such a response deter her from the abortion she desires. The absolute nature of the statutory requirement, with exception permitted only if the parents are physically unavailable, violates the requirement that regulations in this fundamentally personal area be carefully tailored to serve a significant state interest.42 "The need to preserve the constitutional right and the unique nature of the abortion decision, especially when made by a minor, require a State to act with particular sensitivity when it legislates to foster parental involvement in this matter." Bellotti II, 443 U.S., at 642, 99 S.Ct., at 3047 (POWELL, J.). Because Utah's absolute notice requirement demonstrates no such sensitivity, I cannot approve its interference with the minor's private consultation with the physician during the first trimester of her pregnancy.

Finally, the appellees assert a state interest in protecting parental authority and family integrity.43 This Court, of course, has recognized that the "primary role of the parents in the upbringing of their children is now established beyond debate as an enduring American tradition." Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 232, 92 S.Ct. 1526, 1541, 32 L.Ed.2d 15 (1972). See Prince v. Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 158, 64 S.Ct. 438, 88 L.Ed. 645 (1944); Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, 43 S.Ct. 625, 67 L.Ed. 1042 (1923). Indeed, "those who nurture [the child] and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations." Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S., at 535, 45 S.Ct., at 573. Similarly, our decisions "have respected the private realm of family life which the state cannot enter." Prince v. Massachusetts, supra, at 166, 64 S.Ct., at 442. See also Moore v. East Cleveland, 431 U.S., at 505, 97 S.Ct., at 1938.

The critical thrust of these decisions has been to protect the privacy of individual families from unwarranted state intrusion.44 Ironically, appellees invoke these decisions in seeking to justify state interference in the normal functioning of the family. Through its notice requirement, the State in fact enters the private realm of the family rather than leaving unaltered the pattern of interactions chosen by the family. Whatever its motive, state intervention is hardly likely to resurrect parental authority that the parents themselves are unable to preserve.45 In rejecting a statute permitting parental veto of the minor woman's abortion decision inPlanned Parenthood of Central Mo. v. Danforth, 428 U.S., at 75, 96 S.Ct., at 2844, we found it difficult to conclude that

"providing a parent with absolute power to overrule a determination, made by the physician and his minor patient, to terminate the patient's pregnancy will serve to strengthen the family unit. Neither is it likely that such veto power will enhance parental authority or control where the minor and the nonconsenting parent are so fundamentally in conflict and the very existence of the pregnancy already has fractured the family structure."

More recently, in Bellotti II, supra, at 638, 99 S.Ct., at 3045. Justice POWELL observed that efforts to guide the social and moral development of young people are "in large part . . . beyond the competence of impersonal political institutions." Appellees maintain, however, that Utah's statute "merely safeguards a reserved right which parents have to know of the important activities of their children by attempting to prevent a denial of the parental rights through deception.' Brief for Appellees 3. Casting its purpose this way does not salvage the statute. For when the threat to parental authority originates not from the State but from the minor child, invocation of "reserved" rights of parents cannot sustain blanket state intrusion into family life such as that mandated by the Utah statute. Such a result not only runs counter to the private domain of the family which the State may not breach; it also conflicts with the limits traditionally placed on parental authority. Parental authority is never absolute, and has been denied legal protection when its exercise threatens the health or safety of the minor children. E. g., Prince v. Massachusetts, supra, at 169-170, 64 S.Ct., at 443-444. Indeed, legal protection for parental rights is frequently tempered if not replaced by concern for the child's interest.46 Whatever its importance elsewhere, parental authority deserves de minimis legal reinforcement where the minor's exercise of a fundamental right is burdened.

To decide this case, there is no need to determine whether parental rights never deserve legal protection when their assertion conflicts with the minor's rights and interests.47 I conclude that this statute cannot be defended as a mere reinforcement of existing parental rights, for the statute reaches beyond the legal limits of those rights. The statute applies, without exception, to emancipated minors,48 mature minors,49 and minors with emergency health care needs,50 all of whom, as Utah recognizes, by law have long been entitled to medical care unencumbered by parental involvement. Most relevant to appellant's own claim, the statutory restriction applies even where the minor's best interests—as evaluated by her physician—call for an abortion. The Utah trial court found as a fact that appellant's physician "believed along with her that she should be aborted and that he felt it was in her best medical interest to do so but he could not and would not perform an abortion upon her without informing her parents prior to aborting her because it was required of him by that statute and he was unwilling to perform an abortion upon her without complying with the provisions of the statute even though he believed it was best to do so." Civ.No. C-78-2719 (Dec. 26, 1978) (Findings of Fact ¶ 7). Even if further review by adults other than her physician, counselor, and attorney were necessary to assess the minor's best interests, see Bellotti II, 443 U.S., at 640-641, 643-644, 99 S.Ct., at 3046-3047, 3048-3049 (opinion of POWELL, J.), Utah's rejection of any exception to the notice requirement for a pregnant minor is plainly overbroad. In Bellotti II, we were unwilling to cut a pregnant minor off from any avenue to obtain help beyond her parents, and yet the Utah statute does just that.

In this area, I believe this Court must join the state courts and legislatures which have acknowledged the undoubted social reality: some minors, in some circumstances, have the capacity and need to determine their health care needs without involving their parents. As we recognized in Planned Parenthood of Central Mo. v. Danforth, 428 U.S., at 75, 96 S.Ct., at 2844, "[a]ny independent interest the parent may have in the termination of the minor daughter's pregnancy is no more weighty than the right of privacy of the competent minor mature enough to have become pregnant."51 Utah itself has allocated pregnancy-related health care decisions entirely to the pregnant minor.52 Where the physician has cause to doubt the minor's actual ability to understand and consent, by law he must pursue the requisites of the State's informed consent procedures.53 The State cannot have a legitimate interest in adding to this scheme mandatory parental notice of the minor's abortion decision. This conclusion does not affect parents' traditional responsibility to guide their children's development, especially in personal and moral concerns. I am persuaded that the Utah notice requirement is not necessary to assure parents this traditional child-rearing role, and that it burdens the minor's fundamental right to choose with her physician whether to terminate her pregnancy.54

In its eagerness to avoid the clear application of our precedents, the Court today relies on a mistaken view of class-action law and prudential standing requirements. The Court's avoidance of the issue presented by the complaint nonetheless leaves our precedents intact. Under those precedents, I have no doubt that the challenged statute infringes upon the constitutional right to privacy attached to a minor woman's decision to complete or terminate her pregnancy. None of the reasons offered by the State justifies this intrusion, for the statute is not tailored to serve them. Rather than serving to enhance the physician's judgment, in cases such as appellant's, the statute prevents implementation of the physician's medical recommendation. Rather than promoting the transfer of information held by parents to the minor's physician, the statute neglects to require anything more than a communication from the physician moments before the abortion. Rather than respecting the private realm of family life, the statute invokes the criminal justice machinery of the State in an attempt to influence the interactions within the family. Accordingly, I would reverse the judgment of the Supreme Court of Utah insofar as it upheld the statute against constitutional attack.