The House of Lords’ decision in Gillick v West Norfolk and Wisbech Area Health Authority [1986] AC 112 ensured that girls under the age of sixteen could lawfully make autonomous decisions regarding medical matters and access advice and treatment from a medical professional confidentially, without their parents’ knowledge or consent. Gillick is widely considered to be a victory for the increased acceptance of children’s rights and children’s autonomy. It was influential in shifting understandings of parental rights, from being about exerting control over a child to responsibilities and duties that exist for the child’s benefit. However, the case was also important for adult women. It was a vital step toward social recognition not only that women could and would engage in sex outside marriage, but might also delay or even reject motherhood, through the use of the oral contraceptive pill, thereby releasing women (should they wish) from the traditional roles of wife, mother and homemaker.
The full version of this landmark is written by Emma Nottingham.