Life without Gillick: Adolescent sexual and reproductive healthcare in Ireland
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Date
2023-12-25
Authors
Lyons, Barry
Donnelly, Mary
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Publisher
SAGE Publications
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Abstract
The decision of the House of Lords in Gillick v West Norfolk Area Health Authority carved out a safe space for competent minors to confidentially access sexual and reproductive health care and advice in the UK. Ireland is one of the few common law jurisdictions that has not endorsed Gillick or a similar mature minor doctrine, nor has it securely legislated for the right to consent of those aged 16 and 17 years. The legal lacuna created by this deficiency has left young persons in Ireland seeking sexual and reproductive healthcare, and the clinicians who provide this, in a challenging place. While this void has been partially filled with policy statements by bodies such as the Irish College of General Practitioners and the Health Service Executive, nonetheless the legal shortcomings leave both a sense of insecurity, and real world difficulties for adolescents seeking to access to sexual and reproductive healthcare.
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Keywords
Gillick v West Norfolk Area Health Authority , Competent minors , Sexual and reproductive health care and advice , UK , Ireland , Adolescent sexual and reproductive healthcare in Ireland
Citation
Lyons, B. and Donnelly, M. (2023) 'Life without Gillick: Adolescent sexual and reproductive healthcare in Ireland', Clinical Ethics. https://doi.org/10.1177/14777509231220162
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© 2023, the Authors. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications. This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of the following article: Lyons, B and Donnelly, M. (2023) 'Life without Gillick: Adolescent sexual and reproductive healthcare in Ireland', Clinical Ethics. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1177/14777509231220162