Tuesday, October 7 2008

“LIFE What a Beautiful Choice” is the theme of a campaign launched by the Hospital Christian Fellowship in Trinidad and Tobago in response to the draft Women’s Choice on Pregnancy Bill. The bill, which was drafted in 2003 and put out for public comment, aims at providing access to “voluntary, lawful, safe abortion for all women”.

However, the Hospital Christian Fellowship, a group of physicians and other medical professionals opposed to the proposed legislation, is taking steps to counter ongoing efforts by local pro-choice groups for abortion to be made legal in Trinidad and Tobago.

The pro-life group has put forward medical, social, legal and spiritual evidence in support of its pro-life stance and is working to introduce support systems for women with unwanted pregnancies, or post-abortion.

In a booklet soon to be circulated locally, the Fellowship presents the following facts on the foetus and abortion:

- The DNA of the foetus is not identical with the mother’s DNA. At conception, the embryo has 23 chromosomes from the father and 23 chromosomes from the mother. Therefore, the 46 chromosomes in the foetus are not identical to the 46 chromosomes in the mother - they are two different individuals since their DNA is not alike.

- The foetus is a person and personhood is confirmed from conception since at conception the embryo has all the DNA to develop into a complete human being. The human embryo will not develop into a dog, cat, fish, or any other animal. The foetus will respond to noise and pain and even sucks fingers while still in the womb.

- Post-Abortion Syndrome is a real condition and consists of the emotional and spiritual consequences of loss of one’s offspring. Persons with feelings of guilt, depression and torment need counselling by trained personnel sensitive to the client’s needs.

According to the Fellowship, few pro-abortionists will argue that the human foetus is “not human”, or is “not alive”.

“Many, however, give the pregnant woman the right to abortion by arguing that the foetus ‘is not a person’,” the group said.

According to the Fellowship, medical evidence that a foetus is in fact a person has been established through scientific advances in foetal ultrasonography. On the first day the sperm joins the egg and forms a single cell which contains all the genetic material necessary for the complete development of the human. The child’s sex is determined and he has his own blood type and blood system.

By weeks eight to 12 of gestation, when most abortions are done, everything is present that will be found in a fully developed adult - the heart has been beating for more than a month, the kidneys have begun to function, the baby sleeps and wakes and has fingerprints.

“Thus from the time of conception to the time of delivery, no new physical material is added to the initial single cell formed between the sperm and the ovum - an indivisible whole, a unique person,” the group stated. The Hospital Christian Fellowship is proposing that instead of legalising abortion, sex education should be introduced in TT’s schools, “providing coping mechanisms in a world system which promotes liberal sexual practices”.

The group is also working to establish Pregnancy Resource Centres throughout the country to provide counselling by trained personnel for women with unwanted pregnancies, or Post- Abortion Syndrome. The centres will assist women in carrying their pregnancies to full term by providing emotional support and practical assistance and provide free and confidential services to women so they can “plan constructively for their babies”.

“The centres will be committed to creating awareness within local communities regarding the needs of a pregnant woman and the fact that an abortion does not solve any of the challenges faced by humankind but rather complicates it,” the group said.

Services to be offered will include:

- Information on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and how to avoid getting infected.

- Information about the options of parenting, adoption and abortion

- Compassionate abortion recovery counselling

- Pregnancy testing and ultrasound services

- Medical and legal referrals

-One to one or small peer group counselling.

There are also plans to provide homes for pregnant mothers. These will be run by training personnel providing a caring atmosphere rather than institutionalisation. The Hospital Christian Fellowship plans to work alongside other NGOs, including the Rape Crisis Centre, the Adoption Board and Mizpeh House.