JERSEY’S abortion ratio has reached its highest level on record – almost double the EU average – with one politician warning that many Islanders “want to start a family, but simply cannot afford to do so”.
The recently published Abortions Report presents a summary of abortion statistics for Jersey residents in 2024.
It aims to inform policymakers, healthcare providers, and the public about the current state of abortion services – highlighting key data on abortion rates, methods, and demographics.
Around 280 abortions were reported in Jersey last year, which was the highest annual figure since 2002.
Fewer than five abortions were carried out in England and Wales for Jersey residents, which was in line with recent years.
The highest abortion rate was among Islanders aged 25 to 29 at 25.7 per 1,000.
This was a “statistically significant increase and the highest ever recorded for this group”, according to the report.
The abortion ratio – which indicates how many abortions occur for every 1,000 live births – rose to 390 last year.
This was the highest on record for Jersey, and exceeds the most recently reported figures for Sweden (339), Great Britain (328), the EU average (199), Ireland (142) and Germany (141).
“While international comparisons should be interpreted with caution due to variations in legislation, data collection, and service access, Jersey’s relatively high abortion ratio may reflect improved access to abortion care and a broader shift in reproductive decision-making,” the report said.
The document noted that Jersey increased abortion ratio was driven by “small year-on-year increases in the number of abortions being conducted” alongside a “significant reduction” in the number of live births in recent years.
It also noted that the ratio had steadily declined from the early 2000s, – reaching a low of 167 per 1,000 live births in 2014 – but this trend has “reversed sharply” since 2020 with Jersey’s abortion ratio increasing by over 83% in just four years.
Deputy Louise Doublet, who led the campaign to ease access to abortion services, said the statistics point to a reality where many Islanders are simply unable to afford parenthood.
She added that, although there is no local data, research from other other jurisdictions shows that the more common reason for terminating a pregnancy is due to “financial circumstances”.
Deputy Doublet explained: “This would make sense in Jersey because anecdotally what I’m hearing from couples and from women is that, although they might want to start a family and they might want to have a baby, that they simply cannot afford to do so – and that’s a problem that we need to take seriously.”
She urged Islanders to contribute to the review of family-friendly legislation that is currently underway.
“I would like to understand how we can improve our policies and legislation to make our legislation more family-friendly,” she said.
“More generally, I would like to understand what the government are doing to improve on the cost of living situation.”
An Island Global Research survey conducted in March 2025 showed that 70% of Jersey residents viewed the cost of living as a priority for improvement over the next few years.
And a survey published by the same consultancy firm last year showed that one-in-two Islanders reported finding it difficult to meet living costs over the past year, while one in four had received support for everyday expenses.
Of the 672 Jersey-based respondents, 10% said they often had to go without essentials such as food or heating last year.
Deputy Doublet also pointed to the impact of career aspirations, partner-related issues, and domestic abuse on women’s decisions to terminate.
“What I am hearing from families is that their decision to not go ahead with the pregnancy at this time, I would say, is largely down to financial circumstances,” she explained.
“If we look at the international data, there are also factors like timing – so women perhaps being more empowered and educated and wanting to progress in their careers – which is a good thing, but we need to understand how employers and how government can create a climate whereby men and women can combine a career with family life.”
Jersey’s most recent gender pay gap report, published in March by Statistics Jersey, revealed an gap of 7.8% in the 12 months leading up to June 2024.
The gap for those aged between 16 and 29 is “narrow”, but begins to widen to almost 5% by ages 35 to 39. This indicates a “shift where men start to earn more than women”, according to the report.
Following the report’s publication, recruitment director Denise Heavey said that women’s long-term earnings are impacted by the “motherhood penalty”.
“In recruitment, we see first hand how career breaks for childcare impact women’s long-term earnings,” she said.
“The ‘motherhood penalty’ isn’t just about time off it’s about re-entering at a lower level, reduced bargaining power, and salary progression falling behind male peers.
“Part-time work compounds this gap, affecting pensions and long-term financial security.”
Alongside the cost of living, Deputy Doublet said that international data showed that another significant factor in choosing to have a termination is “partner-related reasons, including being in an abusive relationship”.
She noted that the Violence Against Women and Girls report showed that coercive control, a form of domestic abuse, is a “big problem” in Jersey.
“That may also be contributing to women choosing to have termination,” she explained.
The Abortions Report has been released amid increasing scrutiny of Jersey’s abortion process, with a £10,000 independent review quietly published last year uncovering a raft of issues in need of addressing – from “distressing” waits to confidentiality concerns and what was described as a “dehumanising” system for seeking financial help.
Meanwhile, the legislative framework for pregnancy terminations in the Island is currently under review – with proposals on the table to extend the legal time limit for abortions, simplify the process for patients and clinicians, and allow at-home terminations using medication.
In Jersey today, abortions are only allowed up to 12 weeks and six days if the pregnancy is causing “distress”. If approved, the new law would make it legal for islanders to have an abortion for any reason up to 21 weeks and six days of pregnancy.
In the UK, politicians last week voted to change abortion legislation to stop people in England and Wales being prosecuted for ending their pregnancy in a landslide vote that marked the biggest change to abortion laws for nearly 60 years.
The proposed amendments to Jersey’s abortion laws do not propose full decriminalisation in the Island, but do significantly liberalise the current framework and reduce the criminalisation risk under many scenarios.
Islanders who consent to or undergo an unlawful termination knowingly, self-administer abortion medication against medical advice, or attempt to terminate their own pregnancy outside the legal framework will not commit an offence.
But criminal liability will be retained for people who knowingly assist in or perform a termination that violates the law, coerce or pressure some into terminating their pregnancy, or supply or distribute abortion medication unlawfully.
Politicians have pledged to vote on amendments to the Island’s “outdated” abortion law before the end of this year.
