In a prepared statement, Sara Lawrence, Miss Jamaica 2006 announced on Monday, "I relinquish my position as Miss Jamaica World 2006; having taken a deeply personal decision to face up to my responsibilities as one who expects to become a mother later this year." I was behind her all the way.

Tamara Scott - Williams

She was contrite in craving the understanding of her supporters, she acknowledged the love and kindness that her fans and well-wishers have shown her over the past months, and she expressed a concern that they will respect her position.

Not an easy decision to make, but after completing her final assignment on Friday, she must have spent the weekend wrestling with her conscience coming up with the position that, "it is my moral obligation to do what I believe to be ethically correct and follow what I believe in my heart to be right" in giving up her title.

I think Sara Lawrence is a charming and vibrant young lady, I thought her a lovely Miss Jamaica - she placed a very respectable sixth at the Miss World Competition in Poland last year and was also named Miss World Regional (Caribbean) - and I'm sorry to see her relinquish the crown.

Sara has plenty of support from two women who both have an idea of what she has to look forward to after the crown. Cindy Breakespeare, Miss World 1976, told this newspaper that: "It's unfortunate that it (her pregnancy) clashes with her present commitments but bringing a new life into this world is clearly the greatest joy and commitment right now"; Miss World 1993 Lisa Hanna said: "Children are a blessing and I wish her all the best".

Organisers of the Miss Jamaica World seem a little put out by the idea that Sara had made "an error of judgment" but was facing up to the consequences "in a forthright manner". The organisers are coming to terms with the fact that the 23 year-old pageant has suffered quite a blow with a reigning queen relinquishing her title for the first time in its history. The job of beauty queen "chaperone" has just become more demanding.

But I can't imagine what the 'error of judgment' could have been. Clearly, the young lady who just completed a four-year academic scholarship at the Randolph-Macon College, Virginia, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with an emphasis on pre-medicine with ambitions of qualifying as a medical doctor specialising in Obstetrics and Gynaecology - was well aware of her reproductive health and some of the consequences of engaging in sexual activity.

LAWRENCE. has left an indelible impression on many young Jamaican women

I am not even too sure what Sara's parents, Steve and Beverley Lawrence, are calling an 'act of indiscretion', unless they anticipated for her a type of chastity until marriage.

Sara is a healthy young woman with healthy interests and certainly has every right to pursue them in this modern age, unless, of course, her familial rules and rules of the beauty competition run counter to that. Still, much respect is due to their position that: "as parents, our responsibility will remain to provide support, and assist her with guidance and understanding through this difficult time." Sara's very lucky to have so much support.

Where Sara lost me was in declining to identify the father. I didn't need a name, what I needed was a general statement as to his fitness to be her partner, and a parent. A simple but vague: "My friend is a supportive, loving gentleman who after much discussion with me and my family agrees that I have chosen the best possible path for all concerned and he is behind my decision 100 per cent. I look forward to introducing him at another time."

But that's not what Sara said. According to this paper her comment was: "I really do not think we need to bring him into this. He deserves his privacy." No baby, he does not need privacy. Privacy was what got you all into this situation in the first place.

He is the one person that's missing from the picture. Ideally, a press conference should have been called and he should have been standing there with you, front and centre, at the microphone, hand pressed gently to the middle of your back, looking like he loves you more than hot, hard-dough bread, looking like your every wish is his desire, looking like the embodiment of what every smart, ambitious, talented, beautiful woman with oodles of potential and for whom the sky's the limit would give up her day job for.

Yes, being a beauty queen is a job - and part of her responsibility and what she tacitly or otherwise agreed to do in putting herself forward for the title was to be a positive role model for Jamaica's youngsters. Beyond her becoming a 22 year-old, unemployed, single parent, a person in her position should think twice about perpetuating the sad reality of Jamaica's culture of physically and emotionally absent fathers by defending his "right to privacy."

Until she was clear about her plans: marriage maybe, adoption perhaps, more babies even, I would have hoped that her partner would have been a part of the picture signaling his intention to shoulder at least some of the responsibility.

Unless of course Sara's "indiscretion" and "error of judgment" landed her a baby father who for whatever reason is not available for an exclusive, committed relationship with Sara - as one definition of 'baby father' would imply, or is otherwise too irresponsible to step forward and be counted as present as another definition suggests. Where Sara fell short of the mark in my eyes, was not sending a strong enough message that the father of her baby mattered enough to be accounted for and that he will figure prominently in the child's life.

I want to be happy for Sara, I do. It is really none of my business other than the fact that she has left an indelible impression on many a young Jamaican woman, and I am concerned about that. And so, I needed to know that Sara gave it all up for the love of a wonderful, caring man and it was worth it. That would have been a fairy tale fit for a queen.
Sadly, I'm left with the impression that she just gave it away.

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'

Cheeky's World