The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

ACTIVIST Alicia Wallace has renewed calls for the government to decriminalise abortion, urging the Davis administration to stop playing “cowardly” games.

This week, Press Secretary Keishla Adderley said the government would consider amending abortion laws if there is sufficient outcry from the public, saying: “I can’t tell you that there is an active discussion on changing the laws related to abortion, specifically, the terms under which one can legally have an abortion.

 “The issue was in the news lately because of some unfortunate circumstances but if the outcry, you know, reaches the level where the administration feels that it should be pushed to the forefront and a wider conversation should be had, then the government will be minded doing so and engage all of the relevant stakeholders on the issue.”

 In response, Ms Wallace, Equality Bahamas Director, called the comments foolish.

 “It is foolish for the government of The Bahamas would suggest that it needs ‘outcry from the public’ to take action on an issue that has existed for decades, especially as cases have been in the news recently,” she said.

 “The government has a responsibility to protect, promote, and guarantee access to human rights, and that includes the bodily autonomy of women and girls and access to healthcare. Abortion is healthcare, and safe abortion must be made accessible.”

 These comments come on the heels of the ongoing debate as to what the government's efforts are to decriminalise abortion, specifically in cases of rape.

 On Monday, Dr Jamil Minnis, a gynecologist, was charged with helping a 15-year-old Harbour Island girl get an abortion, after a man was previously charged with having unlawful sex with the minor.

 In August, the mother of an 11-year-old girl, allegedly raped by her stepfather, was charged with causing harm to commit an abortion.

 “A review of discriminatory laws in The Bahamas has been underway and the report is overdue, and we know that decriminalisation of abortion is included there as well,” Ms Wallace said on Friday.

 “The government needs to publicly acknowledge its responsibility and its commitment, to the people, through international mechanisms, to ensure that we have access to human rights.

 “It needs to acknowledge that women are human beings with human rights, and it needs to stop playing the cowardly game of telling the public that it must make outcries to get what is owed.”