In 2023, the nation of Jersey saw its highest number of abortions since 2002 and reported that its abortion rate is higher than the European Union (EU) average. Jersey is one of three Crown Dependencies or self-governing possessions of the British Crown.
According to the Jersey Termination of Pregnancy Report, there were 260 abortions committed in 2023, an eight percent (8%) increase since 2022, during which 240 abortions were committed. This is, overall, the highest number of abortions since 2002, when 270 were committed. The overwhelming majority of the abortions were chemical abortions (the abortion pill), and the ease at which people can access abortion pills could potentially account for the massive increase. The abortion ratio was likewise high; in Jersey, it was 327 abortions per 1,000 live births. This is the highest ratio since 2001 and is significantly higher than the overall EU average, which is 184.
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Preborn babies are protected from abortion after 12 weeks gestation in Jersey, though abortion after that time frame is still permitted under certain circumstances, according to the report:
Two doctors approved by the Health and Community Services Department must agree that one of the following applies:
• a termination is needed to save the woman’s life or to prevent serious permanent injury to her physical or mental health. There is no time limit under this reason so a termination can take place at any time
• the woman is no more than 24 weeks pregnant and there is a serious risk that if born, the child would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to have a serious disability
• the woman is no more than 12 weeks pregnant, and her condition causes her distress
Though Jersey’s abortion average is higher than the EU average, it is still lower than that of England and Wales. The British government has frequently pushed abortion on the other nations it governs, such as Northern Ireland, where abortions have unsurprisingly skyrocketed. The bishops of Northern Ireland decried this as “ideological colonization.”
In addition to rising abortion rates, the nation of Jersey seems to have embraced another side to the culture of death. Earlier this year, it also legalized assisted suicide, after years of effort.
