Use of poisons or
instruments to cause abortion
1.
Subject to the provisions of section 3:
(a)
any pregnant woman who, with intent to procure her own miscarriage:
(i)
unlawfully administers to herself any poison or other noxious thing; or
(ii)
unlawfully uses any instrument or other means whatsoever; and
(b) any
person who, with intent to procure the miscarriage of any woman, whether she is
pregnant or not:
(i)
unlawfully administers to her or causes to be taken by her any poison or other
noxious thing; or
(ii)
unlawfully uses any instrument or other means whatsoever;
shall be guilty of
an offence and liable on conviction to imprisonment for life.
Supplying or
procuring poisons or instruments to cause abortion
2.
Subject to the provisions of section 3, any person who unlawfully supplies or
procures any poison or other noxious thing, or any instrument or thing
whatsoever, knowing that the same is intended to be unlawfully used or employed
with intent to procure the miscarriage of any woman, whether she is pregnant or
not, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to imprisonment for
a term not exceeding three years.
Medical termination
of pregnancy
3.
(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person shall not
be guilty of an offence under section 1 or 2 when a pregnancy is terminated by
a recognised medical practitioner if two recognised medical practitioners are of
opinion, formed in good faith:
(a)
that the termination is immediately necessary to save the life of the pregnant
woman;
(b) that
the termination is necessary to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical
or mental health of the pregnant woman;
(c)
that the pregnancy has not exceeded its twenty-fourth week and that, at the
time of the diagnosis, there is a substantial risk that if the child were born
it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously
handicapped; or
(d) that
the pregnancy has not exceeded its twelfth week and that the continuance of the
pregnancy would involve risk, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated, of
injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman or any existing
children of her family.
(2) Any
treatment for the termination of pregnancy must be carried out in the
(3) The
power under subsection (2) to approve a place includes power, in relation to
treatment which consists primarily of the use of such medicines as may be
specified in the approval and which is carried out in such manner as may be so
specified, to approve a class of places.
Records and
notification
4.
(1) A recognised medical practitioner who terminates a pregnancy
shall keep an accurate medical record of the termination.
(2) The
Board may by regulation provide:
(a)
for requiring any such opinion as is referred to in section 3 to be certified
by the practitioners concerned in such form and at such time as may be
prescribed;
(b) for
requiring the preservation and disposal of certificates made for the purposes
of the regulations;
(c)
for requiring any recognised medical practitioner who terminates a pregnancy to
give notice of the termination and such other information relating to the
termination as may be prescribed;
(d) for
prohibiting the disclosure, except to such persons or for such purposes as may
be prescribed, or certificates, notices or information given pursuant to the
regulations.
(3) The
information furnished in pursuance of regulations made under subsection (2)(c)
shall be notified solely to the Medical Officer of Health.
(4) A
person who wilfully contravenes any provision of regulations under subsection
(2) shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine
not exceeding level 5 on the uniform scale of fines.
Conscientious
objection to participation in treatment
5.
(1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (3), no person shall be
under any duty, whether arising by contract or by statutory or other legal
requirement, to participate in any treatment authorised by this Law to which he
has a conscientious objection.
(2) In
any legal proceedings the burden of proof of conscientious objection shall rest
on the person claiming to rely on it.
(3)
Nothing in subsection (1) shall affect any duty to participate in treatment which
is necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman.
(4) In
any proceedings before a court, a statement on oath by a person to the effect
that he has a conscientious objection to participating in any treatment
authorised by this Law shall be sufficient evidence for the purpose of
discharging the burden of proof imposed by subsection (2).
Supplementary
provision
6.
For the purposes of sections 1 and 2, anything done with intent to procure the
miscarriage of a woman is unlawfully done unless authorised by section 3.
Concealment of birth
7.
If any woman be delivered of a child, any person who, by any secret disposition
of the dead body of the child, whether such child died before, at or after its
birth, endeavours to conceal the birth thereof, shall be guilty of an offence
and liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment for a term not exceeding two
years.
Interpretation
8.
In this Law, unless the context requires otherwise:
"the
Board" means the States Board of Health or such other committee of the
States as may be specified by the States by Ordinance;
"contravention"
includes failure to comply, and cognate expressions shall be construed
accordingly;
"prescribed"
means prescribed by the Board by regulations;
"recognised
medical practitioner" means a recognised medical practitioner within the
meaning of the Doctors, Dentists and Pharmacists Ordinance, 1987(b).
General provisions
as to regulations
9.
Regulations under this Law:
(a)
may be amended or repealed by subsequent regulations hereunder;
(b) may
contain such consequential, incidental, supplemental and transitional provision
as may appear to the Board to be necessary or expedient;
(c)
shall be laid before a meeting of the States as soon as possible after being
made and, if at that or the next meeting, the States resolve to annul the
regulations, the regulations shall cease to have effect, but without prejudice
to anything done under them or to the making of new regulations.
Repeals
10. The
Loi sur L'Avortement of 1910(c) is hereby repealed in respect of the Islands of
Guernsey, Herm and Jethou.
Citation
11. This
Law may be cited as the Abortion (
ncy is terminated in accordance with this Act --
The Abortion Regulations, 1997. Click
here.