The court considered a request for permission to abort the pregnancy of a woman receiving treatment as an in-patient at a mental hospital: ‘Pregnant patients in psychiatric hospital are not unusual. The issue of the termination of pregnancies in such circumstances must arise frequently. It seems to me essential that each hospital should have a protocol to deal with possible terminations of such pregnancies, and that these protocols should be designed to address the issue in good time so that, wherever practicable and in the interests of the patient, a termination can be carried out at the earliest opportunity. Furthermore, any such protocol should ensure that the patient is referred at an early stage to independent legal advice, whether from the Official Solicitor or the solicitor who, as in this case, appears to have represented her at the Mental Health Review Tribunal.’
Judges:
Wall J
Citations:
[2002] 1 FCR 73
Cited by:
Cited – An NHS Trust v D (Medical Treatment: Consent: Termination) FD 28-Nov-2003
The defendant had been admitted to hospital under the 1983 Act and found to be pregnant. The doctors sought an order permitting an abortion. An order had been made, but the parties invited the court to say whether a court order was required at all. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Health
Updated: 12 May 2022; Ref: scu.188390
