John McKendrick, QC, a tenant at Outer Temple Chambers, led the legal team for the mother of a pregnant woman with learning difficulties in the Court of Appeal and at first instance. The judges overturned a ruling in the Court of Protection that a termination at 24 weeks was in her best interests.
John McKendrick, QC
What were the main issues?
The circumstances in which the state could consent on behalf of an incapacitous woman to have a termination. Another issue was practical: given the timescales of the hearing and the requirements of the Abortion Act 1967, instructions to appeal came less than 24 hours before the termination would have happened. Thanks to the Court of Appeal staff and the three judges, a hearing was arranged within two