Dear Editor,

Recently, the New York City Health Department reported that numbers for 2009 showed that of all viable pregnancies there, 87,273 were terminated, compared with 126,774 live births. Forty-one per cent of all New York City pregnancies end in abortion. Blacks accounted for almost 60 per cent of pregnancies that were terminated in 2009.

There is something terribly wrong with this picture. Abortion is not just a women’s issue. It is a human issue. And today, for blacks in America, it is a human crisis. The number 87,273 leaves me with a sickened feeling in the pit of my stomach. The value system of our society is in shambles. Think about it. Suppose it were a little puppy in the pregnant mother’s womb. You can be sure that many animal rights advocates would furiously defend its right to life. But the same activists who are so militant about preserving every animal don’t show equal concern for humanity in the womb.

There is something terribly wrong with this picture. Abortion is not just a women’s issue. It is a human issue. And today, for blacks in America, it is a human crisis. The number 87,273 leaves me with a sickened feeling in the pit of my stomach. The value system of our society is in shambles. Think about it. Suppose it were a little puppy in the pregnant mother’s womb. You can be sure that many animal rights advocates would furiously defend its right to life. But the same activists who are so militant about preserving every animal don’t show equal concern for humanity in the womb.

The very high number of abortions in New York City shows a system out of control. This should serve as a wake-up call for those pushing to legalise abortion in Jamaica. Instead of abortion, the government and other agencies must advocate better education and services to help stop unwanted pregnancies. The government could create social development programmes that would help stop rape, incest and other causes of unwanted pregnancies. Many women are using abortion as their birth control method of choice. But the biggest concern over the abortion rate is the impact it is having on women’s health. Health advocates in the US point out that the procedure sometimes causes complications. Many potential physical complications have been associated with abortion. Some complications are immediately apparent while others reveal themselves days, months and even after many years later. Even so, there are occasions such as pregnancies from rape and incest. Such cases deserve special consideration since the mother never had the opportunity to exercise her legitimate free choice. It is also said that a pregnancy caused by rape or incest is the result of a grave injustice and that the victim should not be obliged to carry the foetus to viability. In Jamaica, legislators are still grappling with whether to legalise abortion. I pray that all Jamaicans will take a sober look at New York City’s abortion statistics. We should be saving lives, not taking them.

Neville Carnegie