The controversial theory of U.S. economists John Donohue and Steven Levitt linking reduced crime rates to legalized abortion finds its way to Trinidad and Tobago. From Inter Press Service News Agency, “Abortion Debate Takes a Strange Turn”:
In 1999, the U.S. economists John Donohue and Steven Levitt argued that the sharp decline in murder rates in the United States in the 1990s could be traced back to the legalisation of abortion by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973. In their study, they claimed that the ruling caused a decrease in the births of unwanted children, a disproportionate number of whom would have grown up to be criminals.
In the mid-1970s, the Trinidad and Tobago Family Planning Association (FPA) conducted a study asking a sampling of over 3,000 mothers whether their last baby was planned. The study found that as many as 80 percent of those polled said “no” and when asked whether they were pleased and accepted the child, nearly half of them, or 40 percent, also said “no”.
“What this tells us is that all through the 1970s and 1980s, large numbers of unwanted children were born in Trinidad and Tobago, growing up without one or both parents in a dysfunctional or non-existent family setting. Today we are reaping that harvest, as many of them are the angry criminals that are assaulting our society,” wrote Emile Elias, who served as FTA president for 26 years until he resigned in 1999.
Whether or not opposition legislator Harry Mungalsingh knew about the U.S. or local studies is not known, but last week, in a debate in the Trinidad and Tobago parliament, he caused a major furore when he called on the authorities to seriously consider abortion and cash incentives for sterilisation for women as part of an overall strategy to deal with the rising crime situation here….
The Patrick Manning administration has made it clear that it has no intention of reforming the existing laws on abortion and is “still discussing” a 139-page draft gender policy designed to “promote gender equity, equality, social justice and sustainable human development in Trinidad and Tobago”.
Last year, Manning said that the draft document did not reflect his government’s policy. A network of civil society and women’s rights groups says it intends bringing up the issue as part of the activities marking International Women’s Day on Thursday.
Abortions are legally available in Trinidad and Tobago only if they are to preserve the physical and or mental health of the mother, and the practice requires the corroboration of two medical practitioners.
One group, Advocates for Safe Parenthood: Improving Reproductive Equity (ASPIRE), which has been campaigning for abortion law reform in Trinidad and Tobago, has distanced itself from the remarks made by Mungalsingh, saying it has never advocated using that argument regarding abortion.
“The whole thing we promote is women’s right to a comprehensive safe abortion. Our issue has been public health concerns,” ASPIRE’s spokesperson, Glenis Hyacinth, told IPS.
Flags courtesy of ITA‘s Flags of All Countries used with permission.