In an exclusive interview with the Nassau Guardian, Judith Cooper, the newly appointed Executive Director of The Bahamas Family Planning Association (BFPA), said that young persons between the ages of 12 and 19 often visit the BFPA’s office to enquire about the procedure.
“For the most part, it’s adolescents that are making [abortion] enquiries because at that age group, they are experimental and lack experience,” said Ms Cooper. “When we talk about adolescents, we are saying children who are sexually active from 12 to 19 years old. They want to go anywhere where they think someone will listen to them and they can express themselves freely.”
“What I have found is adolescents, especially those who come in, start talking to you but they are not very direct with what the problem is and what they came to talk to you about,” she continued. “So what tends to happen is that they will talk about something else. Sometimes they would even say, ‘I have a friend that is pregnant and I want to ask you what I should tell my friend to do.’ But once you [start to] talk with them ﾖ if you [talk] long enough ﾖ they will share with you that it [the abortion] is for them.”
Ms Cooper emphasised that the non-governmental organisation is totally against the practice of abortion. “As you know in The Bahamas abortion is illegal,” she said. “So we are a law-abiding group and as far as The Bahamas Family Planning Association is concerned, abortion is not an option here. We here in this organisation are dedicated to proper family planning methods. We believe that pregnancy should be a joyful gift and people should plan it.”
But despite the BFPA’s ‘no-abortion’ policy, Ms Cooper said some people still assume the opposite. “Naturally in a centre like this where we offer reproductive health services, persons ﾖ who find themselves in positions where they are pregnant with unwanted pregnancies ﾖ will stop in and ask for advice,” she said. “I think for the most part, they just want to talk to someone about their present situation and want to share how they are feeling at the time. They also want somebody to know about their anxiety,” she said. “If we just pause and listen to them, it gives them some form of release.”
Meanwhile, Ministry of Health officials have remained relatively silent on the abortion issue. At a January forum on the National Health Insurance plan, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Merceline Dahl-Regis said the procedure could be carried out under certain circumstances. “But, the medical implications for abortion when the life of the mother is threatened requires a team of physicians, social workers and psychologists, to make that determination,” she added.
“By statute, abortion is illegal. There is no question. Abortion is not contraception. It is not supported and physicians who do it are working outside the law,” she said. Presently, in accordance with Section 295 of The Penal Code, as contained in Chapter 84 of The Statute Laws of The Bahamas, 2002, “Whoever intentionally and unlawfully causes abortion or miscarriage shall be liable to imprisonment for 10 years.”
By: JASMIN BONIMY, The Nassau Guardian
