Abortion debate shouldn’t be about morality

Saturday | February 6, 2021
Kimberley Roach

As a young, black, Caribbean woman from rural Jamaica, I write to you with much dismay. Jamaica’s ongoing abortion debate frankly feels like a debate we should’ve had in the late 1990s, and although some developed countries like the United States are somewhat still debating abortion’s place in the society, we have the opportunity to project Jamaica in a positive direction.

Undoubtedly, Jamaica suffers from immense Stockholm syndrome from its relationship with colonial jurisprudence. This is evident in our current legislative framework around buggery and other archaic laws, which the metropole mother Britannia herself has rejected since she recognises that her society continues to evolve.

Continued: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/letters/20210206/letter-day-abortion-debate-shouldnt-be-about-morality

06.02.2021

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Kimberley Roach

Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development

Sustainable Development Goals

Despite Progress, Over 200 Million Women Still Waiting for Modern Contraception

Despite Progress, Over 200 Million Women Still Waiting for Modern Contraception

By Thalif Deen

OTTAWA, Canada, Oct 23 2018 (IPS) - The international community will be commemorating two milestones in the history of population and development next year: the 50th anniversary of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the 25th anniversary of a Programme of Action (PoA) adopted at the1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo.

“Let’s use these important benchmarks to launch accelerated action – together. Starting here in Ottawa,” UNFPA Executive Director Dr Natalia Kanem told a gathering of over 150 parliamentarians from more than 60 countries who were meeting in the Canadian capital to review the progress made in several key socio-economic issues on the UN agenda, including reproductive health, maternal and infant mortality, family planning, female genital mutilation (FGM), child marriage, women’s empowerment and gender equality.

Continued: http://www.ipsnews.net/2018/10/despite-progress-200-million-women-still-waiting-modern-contraception/

Jamaica – No need to mislead

No need to mislead

Alyssa Nebel & Linnette Vassell
Tuesday, July 10, 2018

In her commentary 'Don't distort abortion conversation, Member of Parliament (MP) Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn, published by the Jamaica Observer on July 2, 2108, Phillipa Davies, spokesperson for Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society, makes some very misleading statements to justify her organisation's opposition to legalising the termination of pregnancy under specific conditions. She argues that neither the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) nor the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) discuss abortion. This argument stems from a surface reading of the SDGs and what seems to be a shallow understanding of CEDAW. In addition, Davies cherry-picks content from the recommendations of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and consequently presents a one-sided and selective interpretation.

Continued: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/opinion/no-need-to-mislead_138002?profile=0