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Potential Termination of Pregnancy in a Non-Consenting Minor

Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Charles Frears Campus, DeMonfort University, 266 London Road, Leicester LE2 1RQ, UK, juwebb{at}dmu.ac.uk

The pregnancy of a 12-year-old girl provides the basis for a consideration of approaches to a dilemma brought about by conflicting expectations. Here, medical opinion is to reject action implied by the lack of Gillick competence and by a ‘parental responsibility’ claim adopted by the girl’s mother. Construction of the dilemma and the subsequent process, which sought resolution, illustrates that the Gillick ruling, and other guidelines intended to be helpful, can prove to be less so.

Key Words: best interests • competence • patient-centredness • substituted judgement

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