KINGSTON, Jamaica — Government MP for West Rural St Andrew, Juliet Cuthbert Flynn, today opened a debate in the House of Representatives on her motion seeking to have abortion made legal by the Jamaican Parliament.

Cuthbert Flynn said that in 2018, she lost a constituent, “a young woman who was in her late 20s”, who died due to complications from a botched abortion.

“She was vibrant, full of life and very smart, and I am saddened by what happened. Her death was avoidable and it haunts me to this day,” the former Olympic sprint medallist said.

“I felt I have a personal responsibility, as a lawmaker, to do something,” she stated, adding that she had decided to table the motion after attending several sittings of the House and thinking about it.

“And having done nothing to ensure that people like her do not have to risk their lives due to unsafe abortions,” she added.

Cuthbert, a first time MP and a former sprint star who won silver medals in both the 100 and 200 metres sprint at the Summer Olympics in Barcelona in 1992, had her second child at age 52 after becoming a Parliament in February 2016.

It is not clear whether she will be able to get enough support from a majority of the 62 MPs in the House of Representatives, with the likelihood of some opposition from a powerful conservative church community which has consistently opposed abortion. However, Cuthbert Flynn made a strong case for change in opening the debate Tuesday.

Her motion tabled in the House of Representatives in June reads:

“BE IT RESOLVED that this Honourable House consider the recommendations of the Abortion Policy Group, which was established to provide guidance to allow women the right to choose;

“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Honourable House take steps to repeal sections 72 and 73 of the Offences Against the Persons Act, and substitute therewith a civil law titled “Termination of Pregnancy Act”, as recommended by the Abortion Policy Review Group in 2007”.

Balford Henry