Adolescents' rights to abortion have traditionally been restricted more than adults' because of their presumed immaturity. In many states, minors must obtain adult consent for an abortion, but these laws all include a “bypass” stipulation allowing minors to seek consent from a designated third party—usually a judge—if they were denied parental consent or chose not to seek it. Consent and bypass statutes were designed to promote the welfare of minors, but lack of clarity in the standards for judging maturity has made it difficult for these laws to function as intended. Data indicate that courts cannot discriminate mature from immature minors, and that minors are put at greater risk by delaying the abortion in order to obtain third‐party consent. Unless an alternative to or modification of bypass legislation is adopted, the best interests of minors may continue to be jeopardized by arbitrary application of the “mature minor” standard.