Thanks everyone who responded! Looks like they'll need to contact an attorney, but they might get lucky. Apparently the buyers want a lot of changes and fixes that were taken into consideration when my parents dropped the price of the house. So i'm guessing if my parents refuse, then the deal might be off, depending on the buyers' response? I'm still having them contact an attorney just in case, however. Is there anything they need to be concerned about?

A contract is a legally binding agreement and your parents could be sued for failure to perform along with any damages that the buyer could suffer.
Like everyone says....contact a good Real Estate Attorney immediately. Sometimes they can find the flaw in the agreement that could give them a way out.

Good luck ~

Abby,
They need to contact their attorney immediately. I have had this happen to me, and luckily the sellers were really easy going and let the guy walk, but there could be some legal ramifications so they should get to the attorneys immediately. Here in South Carolina, a contract is not binding unless a meaningful deposit is rendered.

Good Luck!

Have your parents contact their agent ASAP. The sooner the better. Then there will be less damages to have to pay if any, before the buyer starts hiring inspectors etc...If there agent isn't any help go straight to the agents broker that they work for. Hope this helps...

Parents need to see a Real Estate Attorney, immediately.

A Real Estate Agent cannot give legal advice regarding "Backing out of the Contract".

Again, see a Real Estate Attorney for Legal Advice.

Abby, without knowing all the fact of your parents’ situation I can't answer that 100% accurately. What I do know is that once all the parties’ sign you are in contract and it doesn't matter if escrow has been opened or not. Your parents really need to be discussing this with their Realtor. Good Luck.

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