Career
The ruling established the term "Gillick competence" to describe whether a minor (below the age of 16) is able to consent to his or her own medical treatment, without the need for parental permission or knowledge. After it was considered in lower courts, the House of Lords ruled that in some circumstances a minor could consent to treatment, and that in these circumstances a parent had no power to veto treatment. In 2000, Gillick lost a libel action 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.
