Letter of the Day | Irony of teenage pregnancy, abortion and consent

THE EDITOR, Madam:

As I see it, the birth of a child is a special occasion, but the birth of a child to a child ought to be more sobering than celebratory. It is rather ironic that State Minister in the Ministry of Health and Wellness Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn has found herself in this situation, the inadvertent celebration of the birth of twins to a 14-year-old mother on Christmas Day, and for two reasons.

First, almost two years ago, Cuthbert-Flynn was touting the research done by the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) on abortion as ammunition against the current law. At the time, CAPRI recommended that teens who get pregnant should be able to get taxpayer-funded abortions without parental consent. This means that if Cuthbert-Flynn’s abortion proposal had become law, in the brief moments that the 14-year-old mother of twins described her pregnancy as “unwelcomed”, she could have had a clear and legal pathway to an abortion without her parents’ knowledge. Interestingly, because her parents were made aware of the situation, they stepped in to offer support and encouragement to her. Suddenly, what some may have labelled a crisis pregnancy was relieved. And Cuthbert-Flynn ended up celebrating the birth of twins who could have been legally killed in the womb, if abortion was legal as Minister Cuthbert-Flynn would have liked. (Changes in perception and behaviour after the changing of laws are well documented: compare before and after slavery in the UK; before and after same-sex marriage; and Roe v Wade in the US).

Second, it is interesting that less than a month after the debate raged in the public sphere regarding increasing the age of consent, this situation of birth of twins to a 14-year-old has arisen. It seems to be a parody that needs more discussion. Are we really to believe that a 14-year-old giving birth to twins is horrible, but a 16-year-old giving birth to twins is good? Clearly, it’s better than 14, but 16-year-olds are immature and are certainly not ready to take on the supremely important role of being parents. Consent for sex is consent for pregnancy and parenting, and the reality is that children should not be having sex, making babies or becoming parents.

It is warranted that the Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse investigates cases like these. In any case, we ought to be proud of this new mother for choosing life and gratitude but at the same time, the message to our children must be clear – teenagers should be focused on personal development and academic pursuits, rather than on sexual experimentation and parenting. We hope that 2023 will be better for it.

DANIEL THOMAS

President

Love March Movement