“Unwanted Pregnancy Drives Abortion”

We have grown accustomed to newspaper columns, letters to the Editor, sermons, radio broadcasts and talk-show opinions about the very sensitive and at times emotive subject of Abortion in Barbados today.

These presentations displayed a number of common themes, all consistent with the strategies orchestrated by the far right religious groupings found in the USA, and all aimed at taking away from the woman her fundamental right to exercise control over her own body.

The main arguments deployed by these groups and individuals include:

o   Attempts to stigmatize the value and usefulness of condoms.

o   misrepresentation of abortion.

o   promotion of abstinence only as the only way to prevent teenage pregnancies and STIs.

o   Resistance to Sexuality Education for school age children and

o   Refusal to recognize the value of contraceptive use as a realistic option for those who will not abstain or cannot abstain from sexual activity.

I make bold to say that abortion is not the problem in Barbados today.

The real problem is Unwanted Pregnancy.

The prevention of Unwanted Pregnancy ought to be the main focus for those who want to make a meaningful contribution to the quality of life of those most affected by Premature Sexual activity and by extension, unwanted pregnancy.

It has become very fashionable for some persons to wax warm on this subject not because they genuinely desire to help those directly affected or those at greatest risk but because they consider it expedient to do so.

In other words it is an abundance of “hot air” designed to portray a particular public image.

I know of no one who rejoices in abortion, not even those who stand to benefit financially from the existing demand.

I know if no woman or girl who deliberately sets out to become pregnant because abortion is provided for in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act.

I do know however that unwanted pregnancy will remain alive and well in any society where hypocrisy and religious fanaticism take precedence over reality.

I say show me a country where parents, teachers and other authority figures continue to deny or ignore the inevitability of sexual maturing / development and I will show you a country which will be plagued by Unwanted Pregnancy, run-away sexually transmitted infections, including HIV transmissions, and all the related adverse consequences.

If we are honest with ourselves we would admit that our sex drive and sexual urges are instinctive and that the desire for sexual satisfaction is at times powerful if not over powering.

We are neither vulgar nor sinful simply because we experience what is as normal and natural as breathing or nature’s call.

Simplistic moralizing and demonization cannot change what is a normal God given right.  This issue needs greater understanding and higher levels of humanitarianism than is presently the case especially as it relates to unwanted pregnancy among school age girls and boys.  How can they learn to protect themselves if we continue to deny them access to the tools necessary for their protection.

Parents and Guardians who fail to ensure that their children have access to good quality Sexuality Education which is presented in an age appropriate format are failing their charges at times and in circumstances when they need them most.

Let us not forget that one of the most challenging stages of development in a child’s life is accompanied by very rapid change in the child’s level of sexual awareness and development.

Those who promote abstinence only initiatives as the answer to the real issues confronting our Children while blocking and at times even forbidding  the teaching of Sexuality Education, inclusive of a sound knowledge of contraceptive use are not only doing grave injury to our nation’s youth but are exposing their own personal hang-ups and sexual ambivalence.

Barbados is in need of a massive dose of Sexuality Straight Talk.

Failure to educate our young boys and girls responsibly and truthfully does not prevent them from getting information it simply drives them to questionable sources which could very well cause them their sanity or their lives.

My appeal is for the utilization of a realistic, well balanced approach to the preparation of our young people for the proper management of their sexuality and adult life generally, instead of the misinformation and out-dated scare tactics which now passes for enlightening comment on so serious a subject.

I close as I began by restating the fact that Abortion is not the problem and for those who are so full of condemnation for those who provide Safe Termination of Pregnancy Services, I say “Prevent Unwanted Pregnancy and there will be no demand for Abortion.”