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Jersey's 27-year-old abortion law will not be updated until the end of 2026 because of "resourcing challenges" – despite previous announcements that new legislation would be voted on by States Members before the end of this year.
But there are plans to bring forward "one key change" to the island's abortion law which "addresses the challenges imposed on women in Jersey who are on work permits".
A review of the island's Termination of Pregnancy Law was announced in July 2023 by then-Health Minister Karen Wilson.
At the time, Deputy Wilson described it as “really quite clear” that Jersey's abortion legislation needed reviewed, as many other countries had revised their legislation since the island introduced its own back in 1997.
Pictured: Former Health Minister Karen Wilson said that it was “really quite clear” that Jersey's 27-year-old abortion law needed reviewed.
Islanders were invited to share their views as part of a public consultation which ran from 20 July to 31 October 2023, and aimed to gather views on the current Termination of Pregnancy (Jersey) 1997 Law to inform the development of any possible legislative changes.
The results of the survey were published in March 2024, revealing that almost three-quarters of respondents believe that abortions in Jersey should be available without any justification of need.
The Government said that the feedback would be used to draft an updated version of the law to be voted on by States Members before the end of the year.
However, it has now emerged that this debate will not take place until the next States Assembly is in place in 2026.
Pictured: Many responses to the abortion survey highlighted issues with the high cost of pregnancy terminations.
During a hearing of the Health and Social Security Scrutiny Panel last week, Ruth Johnson, Director of Health Policy, explained that a working group had been established with "professionals in Jersey who provide termination of pregnancy services or have an interest in women's sexual health and family planning matters" off the back of the public consultation.
"That working group is actively working through the responses to that survey and developing proposals for reform," she explained.
"We had been anticipating that there would be a debate before the end of the term of this Assembly on changes to the termination of pregnancy law.
"The Women's Health Advisory Group made the decision that that should be delayed till post-purdah i.e. till when the next Assembly is in place because of resourcing challenges that we have within health policy."
Pictured: A termination in Jersey currently costs £185 if the person receiving it is entitled to access Government health care.
However, Ms Johnson noted that there are plans to bring forward "one key change" to the island's abortion law which "addresses the challenges imposed on women in Jersey who are on work permits".
She explained that the current law – which means that an abortion costs over £500 for people who have not lived or worked in the island for long enough to be entitled to access Government health care – "puts a cohort of women who are potentially quite vulnerable into a very difficult position".
Ms Johnson concluded: "So we are looking at bringing forward an interim change, which we will hopefully do before the end of this year.
"And then we will bring forward wholesale change toward the end of 2026 in the Termination of Pregnancy law."
Pictured: Health Minister Tom Binet said that the Women's Health Strategy "could not be realistically taken forward due to resource constraints".
When the Government announced plans to scrap a stand-alone Women's Health Strategy last month, it instead pledged to focus on "key areas of concern", such as a review of the abortion law.
Health Minister Tom Binet said that the strategy was a commitment by his predecessor, Deputy Karen Wilson, and that "no work had commenced" on it because she had concluded at the end of last year "that the strategy could not be realistically taken forward due to resource constraints".
He said that view was then "endorsed" last month by a panel of politicians tasked with advising on Women's Health, who instead decided that focus should be put on "key areas of concern", such as a review of the abortion law, and funding for IVF and contraception services.
At the time, Deputy Binet said: "The decision on the strategy document does not mean that work on women’s health stops or that it not regarded as important.
"Quite the opposite – we are reprioritising and intend to make best use of public funds in the areas where it is most needed."
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