Medical termination of pregnancy laws should recognise the primacy of women’s agency
Emancipation is seldom a linear progression to the finish; the hurdles are many, some entrenched in the mind. The passing of amendments to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act in India recently is a step forward in recognising the rights of women, but is no giant leap. It does push the envelope way past how far the now antediluvian MTP Act of 1971 went, primarily by allowing the termination of pregnancy beyond 24 weeks if there are foetal anomalies. However, it also sets the decision on the shoulders of a medical board formed by State governments for this specific purpose. The amended Act also allows the termination of pregnancy until 20 weeks based on the opinion of one qualified doctor, an improvement from the consensus between the two doctors clause that was previously required. As per the amendment, unmarried women can also terminate their pregnancy, and by replacing the word ‘hus
Bishop Dr Alvin Bailey
A senior clergyman has described as atrocious, disgraceful and alarming a recommendation by the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) that minors be allowed to access an abortion on their own without the consent of a parent.
Bishop Dr Alvin Bailey, the chairman of the Jamaica Churches Action Uniting Society for Emancipation (CAUSE), said in a statement on Monday that the proposal by CAPRI must be rejected by all well thinking Jamaicans .
He added that such a call could be translated to mean that these persons of high intelligence and outstanding academic achievements are spiritually deprived in advocating abortion as a method of contraceptive.
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The ongoing debate over whether to legalise abortion in Jamaica has escalated with the controversial recommendation from the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) that minors be allowed to access an abortion on their own without the consent of a parent.
The controversial position was put forward by CAPRI in its European Union-funded report titled: Coming to Terms: The Social Costs of Unequal Access to Safe Abortions, the findings of which were presented Thursday during a webinar. The requirement of parental consent or notification may delay young women’s abortion care leading to more risky and costlier late-term abortion procedures, or even cause the young women to resort to illegal or self-induced abortions in a fear of parental reactions, CAPRI stated in the report.