Termination of pregnancy policy in Jersey (FOI)

Request

A

Is it legal in Jersey to get a termination of pregnancy if someone is under 16 without the parents' knowledge or consent?

B

How many under 18-year-olds have had their termination fees "waived" in every year since 2014? How many under 18-year-olds have not had their fees waived, also broken down into every year since 2014?

C

What guidance is there for people who wish to have a termination but cannot acquire the funds?

D

For every year since 2014, how many young women under the age of 16 have had a termination​ and how many of those were without parental consent or knowledge?

E

For every year since 2014, how many young women under the age of 18 have had a termination and how many of those were without parental consent or knowledge?

Response

A

The Termination of Pregnancy (Jersey) Law 1997 does not legally prevent a person aged under 16 years having an abortion in Jersey. A doctor may provide an abortion to a person aged under 16 years old without their parents’ knowledge or consent if that doctor is satisfied that the young person is Gillick competent. Gillick competent means the young person has enough intelligence, competence and understanding to fully appreciate what is involved in the procedure and the outcomes of the procedure.

B

No central record of the information requested is held. Financial records for procedures invoiced are held against the Unique Reference Number (URN) of the person treated, rather than by procedure. Termination of pregnancy notifications sent to the Medical Officer for Health do not include patient identifiers. Therefore, Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law applies.

C

There is currently a discretionary power not to charge people who are under 18, or a full-time student or in receipt of income support. The Termination of Pregnancy Law is currently subject to review and, as part of the work, consideration is being given to removing charges for under 18s, full-time students or people in receipt of income support, as distinct from providing a discretionary power not to charge.

Information on termination of pregnancy is available on the Rayner Outpatient’s Clinic webpage of www.gov.je. Contact details are provided for any queries:

Rayner Outpatient’s Clinic (gov.je)​

Where a young person (under 21 years of age) is considering having an abortion, they can also seek advice from Brook Jersey:

Brook Jersey (brook.org.uk)

D

A Termination of Pregnancy report is published every year on www.gov.je setting out annual statistics related to abortions in Jersey.

From 2014 to 2023, 12 individuals under 16 years of age have undergone treatment for termination of pregnancy. Owing to small numbers, no annual breakdown can be provided, as there is potential for individuals to be identifiable. Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law has been applied.

As noted in response to Question (a), those under 16 years old are able to consent to their own treatment without a parent’s knowledge or consent if deemed Gillick competent. If a child is Gillick competent and is able to give voluntary consent after receiving the appropriate information, that consent will be valid; additional consent by a person with parental responsibility is not required.

Additionally, the Fraser guidelines specifically address the rights of those under 16 years of age to access contraceptive and sexual health advice and / or treatment without the need for parental consent or knowledge, including (since 2006) advice and / or treatment for sexually transmitted infections and the termination of pregnancy.

Gillick competence and Fraser guidelines (learning.nspcc.org.uk)

Any documentation of parental consent or knowledge would only be available within individual medical records. The information is not available to report from a central record. A Scheduled Public Authority is not obliged to create or manipulate data for the purposes of responding to Freedom of Information requests. Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies.

E

Annual figures for those under 18 years of age who have undergone treatment for termination of pregnancy are detailed in the table below. Those under 16 years of age are captured in these figures. Where numbers are small, disclosure control is applied to protect individuals from identification, and numbers fewer than five are shown as ‘<5’. Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law has been applied.

Under the Consent to Medical Treatment Law (Jersey) 1973, those aged 16 or 17 years old are entitled to consent to their own medical treatment in Jersey. Health and Community Services’ Consent to Care and Treatment policy upholds that ‘All persons (16+) are assumed to have capacity unless it is established that they lack capacity’. In the absence of any such concerns surrounding capacity, there is no requirement for parental knowledge or consent (or that of someone with parental responsibility) of the young person’s condition or any treatment they elect to receive. Any documentation of parental knowledge would only be available within individual medical records and, as such, is not available to report from a central record. A Scheduled Public Authority is not obliged to create or manipulate data for the purposes of responding to Freedom of Information requests. Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies.

Articles applied

Article 3 - Meaning of “information held by a public authority”

For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if –

(a)     it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or

(b)     it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.

Article 25 - Personal information

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018.

(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018; and

(b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.​