Termination law changes
On Tuesday 1 September 2026, a new termination law came into force in Jersey.
This law allows terminations to take place later in pregnancy. However, the termination clinic currently only provides terminations up to end of the 12th week of pregnancy for any non-medical reason.
Find out more about
Jersey’s Termination Law.
Terminations in Jersey
Jersey’s new law allows termination for any reason, medical or non-medical, up until the end of the 21st week of pregnancy, which is 21 weeks and 6 days after your last period.
However, the termination clinic currently only provides terminations, for any reason, up to the end of the 12th week of pregnancy. This is 12 weeks and 6 days after your last period. This is due to a number of reasons outlined in the Draft Termination of Pregnancy (Jersey) Law 202- on States Assembly.
This means that if you’re more than 12 weeks pregnant, and there is no medical reason for your termination, you will need to arrange a termination in another country where it's legal, such as the UK.
You need to pay for your own termination and travel.
Termination for medical reasons only
The new law allows medical terminations up to any point in pregnancy. Previously this was limited to 24 weeks.
If you’re more than 12 weeks pregnant, the termination clinic may arrange for you to be either:
- treated in Jersey
- referred to a UK hospital
This will depend on your medical circumstances and clinical safety.
You may have a termination for medical reasons on island after 12 weeks, if 2 doctors agree that having a termination is:
- necessary to save your life
- necessary to prevent significant risk to the survival of another fetus, if you are pregnant with more than one fetus
- necessary to prevent significant risk of serious injury to your physical or mental health
- warranted to terminate a fetus that has, or has a significant risk of, a serious fetal anomaly
A serious fetal anomaly means that either:
- the fetus is likely to die before, during or shortly after birth
- if born, the fetus would be likely to have a serious disability
Getting a referral to the termination clinic
We’re in the process of making changes to allow you to self-refer to the termination clinic, as allowed by the new Law.
However, currently, you must be referred by either:
Updates on when self-referral will be available will be announced by the Minister for Health and Social Services.
How to get termination care
Find out more about terminating a pregnancy, costs and what to expect at your appointment.
Terminating a pregnancy (abortion)
gov.je