As the debate continues on proposals to legalise Abortion and introduce a Termination of Pregnancy Act, legislators have been exposed to a gamut of arguments and numerous warnings about the predicament such a decision could create, not the least of which were those brought to fore last week.

THE missionaries begged, cajoled and even sang in a bid to sway the members of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament contemplating proposals to legalise abortion.

The group, which appeared before the committee last Thursday, also had some harsh words for the United States and the European Union (EU).

For instance, Missionaries of the Poor founder Father Richard Ho Lung argued that the Jamaican Government should flatly reject monetary aid from international agencies if benefitting is hinged to it legalising abortion or homosexuality.

“There is blood money from the European Union and post- modern USA, (they say) ‘if you want our millions and billions of dollars you must agree to legalise abortion. If you want our wealth, men and women must be able to be gay – without that you get no money’.”

“We must not do what is wrong for the sake of money, no matter how much, no matter how great the temptation. We must do what is right, and God will take care of our nation, our women, our men and our children,” Ho Lung said.

“You will lose millions if you don’t conform to what the EU or the US says, but myself and Father Ramkissoon are committed, irrespective,” Ho Lung added.

The missionary, who appeared before the committee with Vicar General of the Missionaries of the Poor Father Brian Kerr, Executive Director of Mustard Seed Communities Father Gregory Ramkissoon and Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Kingston Reverend Kenneth Richards and several others, argued that it was hypocritical that the EU was anti-capital punishment but pro-abortion.

“In instances where a child or woman is raped and becomes pregnant, bring the child to us; bring the parent and the baby, we will take care of them,” he added further.

Speaking in a tone almost hypnotic in its calmness and with quiet authority, Ho Lung also hit out at the pro-choice movement which he said was an agent of the descent into moral decay.

“Sexual liberation is part of the pro-choice movement…we will have sex with whomever and whenever we want…pro-choice in every area of life has become the foundation of evil in our modern world and Jamaica. The unholy trinity of sex, money, popularity in the name of freedom of choice has brought in the devil himself,” he added.

Meanwhile Ramkissoon, in an impassioned presentation, said if Jamaica were to legalise abortion it would be to the detriment of its human capital.

“We are going down a slippery slope; We are acting as gods if we allow that to happen; bring the child to us, bring the mother to us, bring the man to us. If we do that, a few years from now we can’t look after our old people because we have no kids; don’t go down that slope,” he warned.

Earlier this month the group of missionaries, led by Ho Lung, boycotted a meeting of the Joint Select Committee complaining that its members were disrespectful by repeatedly showing up late or being absent from sessions when they were to make presentations. The group had contended that their appointments to meet with the committee had been cancelled thrice with just a day’s notice and said there was “indifference to the pro-life position” of the group. They further refused to present to less than the full complement of the committee which numbers 16 members.

On Thursday, however, the group relaxed its resistance and presented to just six committee members including Chairman Rudyard ‘Ruddy’ Spencer despite the absence of the remaining committee members, several of whom sent apologies.

In the end, at least one committee member was seemingly converted by the arguments presented by the missionaries.

“I cannot and will not vote in favour of this Bill. Their presentation is compelling. Certainly we need to examine their proposals,” committee member Senator Norman Grant said.

Spencer, who tried to rein in Grant by reminding him that his opinion was “not sought now”, said the committee would need to pay particular attention to the plea of the missionaries.

The committee has been asked to consider the report of the Abortion Policy Review Advisory Group set up by former Health Minister John Junor in 2005 amidst concerns that abortion was the third leading cause of death in adolescents and that unsafe abortions constituted the eighth leading cause of maternal deaths in Jamaica.

The group, which was asked to advise on the development of a comprehensive national policy on abortion with special emphasis on safe abortions, has recommended that Sections 72 and 73 of the Offences Against the Person Act be repealed and replaced with a Termination of Pregnancy Act.

Currently under the Offences Against the Person Act, persons identified as having made the slightest contribution to abortion are liable to life in prison.

Clergyman warns against contraceptives in children’s homes

EXECUTIVE director of Mustard Seed Communities Father Gregory Ramkissoon last week used a presentation to the parliamentary committee considering abortion to warn of the dangers of allowing the use of condoms

and contraceptives in children’s homes.

Ramkissoon told a meeting of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament contemplating proposals to legalise abortion last Thursday that distributing condoms and allowing the use of other forms of contraceptives will mask a greater evil and work in favour of the perpetrators of sex crimes.

“You are only seeing the tip of the iceberg, the amount of rapes that go on; and it is because there is a nice way to hide everything and wrap it up so that everything is ok,” the clergyman said.

According to Ramkissoon, particular care needed to be exercised in the case of children’s homes with children with disabilities as they were the ones more likely to be preys.

He said his organisation has had to reject help from an international aid agency because it was predicated on the home agreeing to ‘tie off the girls’ (tubal ligation).

“We had a problem where an agency would only give us money if we tie off the girls and it’s an international agency. But you know what is going to happen. And we decided no… the reason is the men in the community or the men who are even security could rape a girl and you don’t know what’s going on,” Ramkissoon said.

“I think the nation needs to be aware, so we make the right decision when it comes to even the use of condoms in children’s homes and in schools. Be careful about that; we may end up in a serious problem where we cannot control that tide that’s going to come because I know the discussion has already started in schools. Be careful, don’t take any money that says you have to allow condoms in schools, that’s going to get us in problem,” he added.

In the meantime, Ramkissoon, who appealed to “every legislator to be a protector and a guardian” of children said agencies and individuals who were the first point of contact for abused females needed to get their act together.

“The kinds of stories we are getting, I think we can’t get another day to bring some serious action to bear. The rape unit is great, but it is not that great. We need to put some serious proactivity in that department so we could clear up a lot of things that’s going on,” he noted.

Ramkissoon said Mustard Seed has been confronted with many cases in which young girls are afraid to report their abuse to the police because of the treatment they are given by the lawmen in cases and also because of their fear of their abusers.

“We have to look at how we can defend our young women and girls who need to come and get help, but they are afraid of the legal ramifications. They are afraid to call the name of the person who raped them,” he added.

Committee member Senator Sandrea Falconer mirrored Ramkissoon’s concern.

“Those of us who have a voice need to speak out very loudly, sometimes the police – and not that we want to knock them – need to deal with issues of incest and rape with a little more compassion. I don’t know if the church can help them. I’ve heard of one too many cases where girls or women who are victims of rape and incest are not treated with the kind of compassion and empathy they ought to be treated with,” she said feelingly.

Light Moment

Senator Hyacinth Bennett posed a question to Father Richard Ho Lung during the committee meeting this week on how to curtail incest and rape of minors by adults:

Hyacinth: Father, isn’t making some of these bigwigs a public example a possible deterrent?

Ho Lung: Yes, Amen, yes preacher.

Hyacinth: Fathers, what should be done to those old, tough, crusty-back men who indulge in rape and incest?

Ramkissoon: Father Ho lung is a gentler person, he can answer that…” (laughter in the galleries).