Abortion will remain a paid-for medical service in Jersey, even under sweeping new legislation designed to modernise the island’s termination of pregnancy laws.

The draft Termination of Pregnancy (Jersey) Law, lodged this week, would replace the existing 1997 legislation and allow terminations up to just before 22 weeks on any grounds – removing the long-standing requirement for those seeking an abortion to claim they are “distressed” in order to qualify.

Later terminations would be permitted on defined medical grounds, including serious risk to the patient’s health or severe foetal anomaly.

But whilst access to abortion would be widened and legal barriers removed, the new law does not contain any provision to make terminations universally free at the point of use.

Currently, abortions in Jersey cost £185 for a resident and £511 for non-residents.

The new law does not propose removing these charges, but would instead place them on a statutory footing for the first time to provide “greater transparency and certainty” around who must pay.

Fee exemptions – which include under-18s, full-time students, people in income support households, and victims of rape or incest – will be written into law.

The report accompanying the new law states: “Termination has historically been a paid-for service in Jersey, and there are currently no plans to provide the service free of charge (except to women who fall within one of the exempt categories).

“This mirrors the policy requiring women to pay for contraception, as is currently the case.

“Providing terminations for free could result in unintended consequences and would require further review if considered.”

Some islanders also have to travel to the UK for an abortion at a cost of up to £1,500, before travel and accommodation.

This will remain the case under the new legislation, which acknowledges that is is “unlikely” that abortions post 12-week gestation will be provided in Jersey.

This creates a “difference between what is permitted in law in Jersey and the services provided”, with those seeking an abortion from 13 weeks to 21 weeks and six days having to foot the bill for the procedure, as well as travel to the UK and accommodation.

The announcement comes just over a year after a £10,000 government-commissioned review exposed widespread problems with Jersey’s abortion service – including long waits, confidentiality fears in a small community, confusing funding processes and barriers for those forced to travel away from the island.

The ‘Lived experiences of termination of pregnancy in Jersey’ report found that patients often felt stigmatised, poorly informed and unsupported, with some describing the process of seeking financial help as “dehumanising”.

The costs associated with having an abortion were “a concern for most participants, and presented barriers to those who were experiencing financial difficulties”, according to the report.

Two participants had not realised that they were liable for the cost of the termination until they had started the process of accessing care.

Researchers stated that the current abortion cost “represents an inconsistency in the way that healthcare is funded in Jersey”.

The exception to self-funding an abortion is for terminations on the grounds of foetal abnormality, or where necessary to save the person’s life or prevent grave permanent injury to their physical or mental health.

These terminations are fully funded if they are carried out in Jersey, and if patients are required to travel to the UK mainland for care, their costs are covered and transport arranged for them.

One participant told researchers that she felt she had to terminate an unplanned, but not necessarily unwanted, pregnancy because of financial pressures.

“I don’t believe I was offered enough support from an emotional perspective,” she said.

The termination itself then posed a cost which she struggled to fund.

Another participant described how the process for seeking funding support for the termination was confusing, “dehumanising”, and felt inappropriate.

She reflected on how the cost of travelling overseas for care had the potential to impact women on lower incomes, stating that some “don’t have the money up front to be able to access that service”.