Calls for Jersey's abortion laws to be updated

A Jersey politician is calling for the island's laws on abortion to be updated.

Deputy Louise Doublet says the requirement for women seeking a termination to wait seven days between medical consultations should be removed as there is no medical need for the delays.

In a proposition to the States Assembly, she says the current laws could force some women to have to undergo a surgical abortion rather than a medical one, if the waiting period takes them beyond a certain stage of their pregnancy.

Deputy Doublet says the legislation has remained 'virtually unchanged' since it was passed 20 years ago.

She also references Guernsey, where the States recently agreed to reform the law to allow a single doctor to sign off an abortion, removing the need for two medical consultations.