1/18 How long have we been coming to terms with the problem of unsafe #abortions and correspondingly high rates of maternal deaths in Jamaica?

2/18 In 1975, the Minister of Health issued a Statement of Policy on Abortion which called for an amendment of the Offences Against the Person Act to clarify when abortion would be lawful in JA and to take steps to make rape, carnal abuse, and incest lawful grounds for #abortion.

3/18 However, no action towards legal reform followed due to strong opposition by religious institutions. #AbortionJA

4/18 The following year the @themohwgovjm established a Fertility Management Unit at a health centre in Kingston, where it was said that medical practitioners performed safe terminations of pregnancies with little opposition.

5/18 In 1990-91 the @themohwgovjm further outlined the criteria by which a patient could be eligible for an #abortion.

6/18 In 2005, the @themohwgovjm issued a statement recognizing the risks posed to women’s health by unsafe abortions and the high public health costs of managing the complications of unsafe #abortions.

7/18 A government-appointed #Abortion Policy Review Group was formed towards the objective of reducing maternal mortality (and morbidity) in Jamaica by 75 percent by 2015, in keeping with the Millennium Development Goals for improving maternal health.

8/18 In 2007, the group’s final report recommended that the relevant sections of the Offences Against the Person Act be repealed and replaced with a Termination of Pregnancy Act, which would indicate the conditions under which #abortions are lawful.

9/18 A Joint Select Committee of Parliament was then appointed to carry that process forward.

However, when the recommendations were made public, there was vigorous opposition from religious groups to the legislative change, and the process stalled.

10/18 A decade later the #abortion question was again raised.

In June 2018 the JLP Member of Parliament @julietcuthbert tabled a parliamentary member’s motion calling for the House of Representatives to proceed with the recommendations made more than ten years earlier.

11/18 Later that same year the Joint Select Committee that had been established in January 2017 to review the sexual offences legislation, was tasked with also reviewing the Offences Against the Person Act in relation to #abortion.

12/18 That Committee, in December 2018, recommended that any amendment of the existing laws concerning #abortion should be considered by the Parliament as a whole, rather than task the committee to make recommendations.

13/18 The Committee stated that matters of broad public divide should be put to a referendum.

Notwithstanding these recommendations, the House of Representatives voted to refer the resolution on #abortion to the Parliamentary Human Resource and Social Development Committee.

14/18 In March 2020 the 11 member committee after hearing representation from 70+ individuals and institutions, and receiving 900+ emails over a nearly two-year period, recommended that the Parliament take a conscience vote to determine whether or not JA should legalize #abortion

15/18 In January 2021, following the Argentine Senate’s landmark decision in December 2020 to legalise #abortion, the issue was brought back in the Jamaican Parliament and in the public debate.

@BBCWorld https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-55475036

16/18 At least one other member of parliament and State Minister, and a government Senator, publicly stood with Minister @julietcuthbert saying that if the matter comes before the Parliament, they will vote to repeal the law. #abortion

Photo credit: @JISNews

17/18 In a rare display of bipartisan support, the opposition spokesperson on health declared that he would join his fellow members on a vote to legalise #abortion if the matter comes before the Parliament.