The High Court has granted orders permitting HSE clinicians to terminate a 15-year-old girl’s pregnancy after finding she lacked decision-making capacity and faced a serious risk to her life if the pregnancy continued.
Delivering an ex tempore judgment in October, Mr Justice David Barniville held that the case justified the exercise of the court’s minor wardship jurisdiction. He confirmed that, consistent with Article 42A of the Constitution, the court could provide consent where the parents were not in a position to do so.
The girl, who lives in international protection accommodation, presented to the HSE in early October 2025, and a pregnancy of more than 12 weeks was confirmed. She expressed an intention to self-harm or self-terminate if unable to access medical care. Following psychiatric assessments and a multidisciplinary meeting, clinicians concluded that the pregnancy posed a serious risk to her life within the meaning of section 9 of the Health Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy Act 2018, that the foetus was not viable, and that the minor lacked functional capacity to decide on the procedure.
Because the parents, for cultural and personal reasons, could not consent, the HSE sought court approval. The judge found that all statutory requirements under section 9 had been satisfied, including the certification of risk by the relevant practitioners and the proposed performance of the procedure by an obstetrician. He further determined that the termination was in the minor’s best interests, noting the views of medical professionals, the guardian ad litem and the Child and Family Agency.
Relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in JJ, the court held that State intervention was justified in this specific instance, as the parents were unable to provide necessary consent and the minor’s welfare would otherwise be prejudicially affected.
The court therefore authorised the termination and granted ancillary orders permitting treating clinicians to take all reasonable medical steps should complications arise.