Victoria D. M. Gillick (née Gudgeon; born 1946, in Hendon) is a British activist and campaigner best known for the eponymous 1985 UK House of Lords ruling[1] that considered whether contraception could be prescribed to under-16s without parental consent or knowledge. The ruling established the term "Gillick competence" to describe whether a young person below the age of 16 is able to consent to his or her own medical treatment, without the need for parental permission or knowledge.

A Roman Catholic mother of 10 children (five sons, five daughters), Gillick began her campaign in 1980 in response to a DHSS circular issuing guidance on contraceptive stating a minor could consent to treatment, and that in these circumstances a parent had no power to veto treatment.[citation needed]

In 2000, Gillick lost a libel action[2] against the Brook Advisory Centres, which she claimed accused her of being "morally responsible" for a rise in teenage pregnancies. Costs of £4,298.15 were awarded against her. In 2002, however, she won an apology and damages amounting to £5,000 and costs.[3]

Living in Wisbech,[4] she is married to Cambridgeshire County Councillor and former UKIP councillor Gordon Gillick.[5] One of their sons is the painter James Gillick.

References

  1. ^ 1983: Mother loses contraception test case, bbc.co.uk; accessed 5 December 2016.
  2. ^ Victoria Gillick 'broke' after losing libel case, Telegraph.co.uk; accessed 18 May 2017.
  3. ^ Morals campaigner wins damages, bbc.co.uk; accessed 5 December 2016.
  4. ^ OLD RATCLIFFIAN NEWS; retrieved 5 December 2016.
  5. ^ "Ukip councillor Gordon Gillick: 'Poor, badly educated people are fat because they like it'", Independent.co.uk, 24 July 2014.


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