According to your article “Rethink abortion” [ ], the Ministry of Health-commissioned report has recommended that current laws prohibiting the practice [of abortion] be repealed and replaced with legislation outlining conditions under which medical termination of pregnancy would be lawful (Italics mine). The indication is that this is largely due “to an alarming number of botched abortions taking place in the island”, and that this phenomenon has resulted in the burdening of the public health sector:

Please note that termination of pregnancy is really the termination of a pre-born baby’s life. In 1975, the Glen Vincent Clinic was sanctioned by the then Minister of Health, the Hon. Kenneth McNeil for the purpose of killing babies. Abortions were done there under the watchful eyes of the Medical Association of Jamaica and the practitioners paid by the Government of Jamaica. Abortion was/is just another form of “contraceptive” for teenage girls (after their failed experiments with the oral contraceptive Perle and the condom, Panther) [ .] This has since then closed. Where are abortions performed in Jamaica, today? Daily they are self-induced at home, done in public hospitals, in doctors’ offices and in private clinics. From personal conversations, even with persons in the medical field, it seems that, before the 2005 highlights calling for legalization of abortion, most Jamaicans had no idea that abortion is not legal, and most women do not know they are killing a baby… Shame associated with abortion is the primary reason our women do not speak of it openly, not fear of being charged for a crime.

Was this commissioned report a little skewed? There seems to be an underlying suggestion that abortions are only being done by the unemployed and those who “live in economically and socially deprived communities…” and unable to pay for abortions/treatment… If this is at all true, how will legalizing abortion change their socio-economic situation or their mindsets? Will abortions be free to this group, or will it provide employment for them and change their earning capacity?

It would be interesting to discover the actual figures on maternal deaths, in Jamaica, due to “botched abortions/bungled operations.” Is there any comparison here of maternal deaths with the estimated 20-30,000 abortions that are done annually in Jamaica? It seems as if the case for abortions on the premise of it being a major cause of maternal mortality is quite fragile. What should be of consideration to is the real cost of abortion to Jamaica. The real value of any land is its people.

Breast cancer is on the rise in Jamaican women and induced abortion before first term pregnancy increases the risk of breast cancer. [ ] Twenty eight major independent studies have established a link between abortions and breast cancer. [ ] What does this mean for Jamaica’s economy? Maybe we should focus some research on this phenomenon in the Jamaican context, rather than seeking to legalize something that not just kill our children but hurt our women (and some of our men) in innumerable ways. If 30% of our teens have had at least one abortion [ ] could it be that our nation needs to focus more on correcting the root that creates a market for abortions? Our children have been socialized to believe that every relationship should include sex, and that if they use the condom there will be no consequences to abuse/misuse of sex, including the results of procreative acts.

It seems that our thinking has become twisted and warped by philosophies such as those of Margaret Sanger, who in collusion with Dr. Clarence J. Gamble and his “Suggestion for Negro Project” on December 10, 1939, wrote [concerning Birth Control]: "We do not want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population…” (emphasis mine) [ ]. In the United States today, approximately 36% of the over 40 million abortions done since its legalization in 1973, has been on Black women, even though they are a minority group… Sanger’s dream seems to be coming through.

Today, in Jamaica, there are some medical practitioners who now propose abortions to pregnant mothers and may even induce an abortion without her express permission. Conversely, most ‘educated’ women [married or not] are embarrassed to have more than two children, and many are tempted to abort any that comes after two. Others too have been known to demand an abortion on the claim that their contraceptive method failed. Could this be the result of the avid 1970’s to 90’s campaign of “Two is better than too many”, connected to Sanger’s philosophy? Back-Street Abortions…? Think again…

Let us check our mental health officers, our medical practitioners, and our counsellors… we may be shocked to discover how many women [and men] are depressed to the point of being suicidal over an abortion decision that they cannot not turn back. We should evaluate the cost of promiscuity and reckless living due to a death-wish associated with Post Abortion Stress; or maybe we should examine the possible increase in anger episodes, drug use and alcohol abuse that follows abortion. What is the real cost of abortion to Jamaica?

Here, at the Pregnancy Resource Centre of Jamaica, 9 out of 10 women who come to us thinking that they may be pregnant, before counselling, desire an abortion if they are pregnant. When given information on foetal development, abortion procedures [according to the stage of the child’s development], and possible consequences, in every case they leave with a change of heart. None of them knew that their baby’s heart was beating 21 days after conception, and that at eight weeks each one has every body-part it will ever have; that it has been accomplishing great feats in the womb, and can actually feel pain. They did not know…

Just maybe we should intensify our Family Life educational campaigns emphasising the fact that the pre-born child is a human being whom abortion kills, highlighting his growth and development in the womb, the horror of abortion, and the risks and possible consequences to the parents and especially to the mother of the aborted child or children – as in the case of multiples.

While the cost for treating fathers, mothers, siblings, and grandparents for the psychological impact of abortions may be far-reaching, it cannot be compared with the overall effect of abortion to the nation. It is the destruction of the future citizens of this great nation and the cutting off of their purposes…whatever those would be. No nation that destroys its young can long possess its land . What are we doing to Jamaican women and our pre-born Jamaicans when we seek to pass laws to legalize killing children in their most defenceless state? Let us remember the Tainos who longer exist as a people. They practiced infanticide, we are practicing foeticide.

As concerned Jamaicans who love Jamaica and Jamaicans, believing that – typically – we are a strong, industrious, resilient, friendly and caring people, very hospitable, and capable of accomplishing what others would deem impossible (see Cool Runnings), let us join in a sustained stance of “Long live Jamaicans!” and “Let our children live!” Like the volunteers at the Pregnancy Resource Centre, let us all educate ourselves on matters of life and death, and provide for the prevention/relief (for our girls/women) of burdens of shame, guilt and unresolved grief. Let us build the GDP of this nation by not just by reducing the demand for abortions, but by recognizing again the value (to us) of every human life and developing plans to make it better. Finally, take a minute to ponder this: What would life have been like if your grandmother had been aborted?

Pregnancy Resource Centre of Jamaica (PRCJ)
Shop 1A, 3-5 Fort Street,
Montego Bay, St James
Telephone: 971-2004, FAX: 971-2000
Email: pregnancycentreja@cwjamaica.com or christina_milford@yahoo.com

Your eyes saw my unformed substance and in my book all the days of my life were written before ever they took shape, when there was yet none of them. Psalm 139:16

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1.Daily Gleaner, Rethink Abortion, January 15, 2008
2.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
3.Lancet, 2/22/86, p. 436
4.http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/medicalgroups/index.htm
5.Daily Gleaner, Teen abortions a wake-up call, January 12, 2005
6.Citizen magazine, January 20, 1992
7.Oil of Joy for Mourning, Inc.