Revisiting Minors’ Reproductive Autonomy Rights under South African Law: The Rights and Wrongs of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act

Abstract

This article examines the interface between children’s autonomy, parental responsibility and state intervention in reproductive decisions of a particular type, namely the termination of pregnancy. Children asserting their autonomy in reproductive decision-making often confront counterclaims of legitimate intervention by parents or guardians responsible for caring for the child. Locating the right balance between competing interests is very important because uninformed decisions, with or without the support of parents, often carry heavy consequences for the education, health and life of the pregnant child. More specifically, this article seeks to investigate the extent to which South African law protects and empowers sexually active adolescents to make decisions concerning the termination of pregnancy. This involves an analysis of the degree to which relevant legislation appropriately reconciles children’s reproductive autonomy rights–—particularly the right to terminate a pregnancy without parental consent or approval–—with parental responsibility and state intervention. Parental responsibility and state intervention embody children’s right to and need for protection (from the immaturity that characterises youth) when decisions to terminate pregnancies are made. Accordingly, this article focuses on whether or not the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act strikes an appropriate balance between children’s autonomy, parental responsibility and state intervention in reproductive decision-making.