Fr. Tom Euteneuer, January-February 2008

Teach us true respect for all / Stir response to duty's call / Strengthen us the weak to cherish / Give us vision lest we perish.

These inspiring words are from the Jamaican National Anthem, and they perfectly encapsulate the ideal that Jamaica needs to display as a nation if it is to have a future. The challenge to respect all and to "cherish the weak" is like a clarion call to action at this critical stage in their history. Never before in the life of their nation have Jamaicans been under such a threat. The good, pro-life people on this island are struggling hard to convince their nation that abortion is a deal with the devil that will kill their national soul.

This tiny island of only 2.8 million people, located just south of Cuba, has a rich and varied history from its "discovery" by Christopher Columbus in 1494 to independence from Britain in 1962. The island was taken over by the British in 1655, and it is said that during the 200+ years of British rule, literally every trace of Catholicism was wiped out with not one Catholic priest being allowed to live or work on the island. Catholics are only about 3% of the overall population today. Nonetheless, more than 90% of Jamaicans consider themselves Christians of some sort or another.

Jamaica's deep-seated Christian values, however, often get trampled upon by hedonistic lifestyles that are filtering into their national soul from their northern neighbors. Their unwed pregnancy rate is extremely high, poverty is endemic, crime is rampant, and they always talk about themselves as a Third-World Country even though it is modern in many ways. Jamaica had over 1,500 murders last year due to its strategic position in the Caribbean as a transshipment point for narcotics. Yet, despite these problems, Jamaicans are second to none in their love for life. The vast majority of Jamaicans really understand that there is no reason to kill a baby, ever. They call in to radio talk shows and write letters to the editor to let their pro-life opinions be known. So far, it's their pro-life heart that is saving them.

THE ABORTION PROMOTERS NEVER SLEEP

Despite the fact that the 1861 Offenses Against the Person Act generally prohibits abortions, corrupt doctors have for a long time found a way to circumvent the law, and even to create legal structures to permit and spread the killing. A report presented to the Jamaican Parliament last year stated, with all the radical feminist jargon, that dishonesty and malfeasance are the name of the game in the promotion of abortion, and they criticized the churches as being the main force of opposition.

The abortion report referred to a 1989 memorandum from the Jamaican Ministry of Health that was a watershed: it opened the possibility of abortion for teenagers, rape/incense/life of the mother, and even-if one can believe it-"failed contraception." If anyone ever needs a rationale to explain why contraception leads to abortion, they don't have to find the reasoning in the pro-life camp. The abortion promoters make the case perfectly. In other words, there is almost no reason which would prohibit abortion in Jamaica except the public stigma associated with it and the convictions of the churches if they are organized against it. Those churches are literally what stand the chance of keeping abortion from getting worse in Jamaica. The same can be said for every culture in the world.

ABORTION-ON-DEMAND KNOCKING AT JAMAICA'S DOOR

What the pro-lifers are really fighting in Jamaica, then, is not the legalization of abortion per se, but its total dominance of the culture-that is, abortion-on-demand. The attempt to liberalize abortion in Jamaica is just another page of the abortion playbook. An Abortion Advisory Committee was set up in 2005 to "study" the issue of abortion for a proposed legal reform. The committee's chairman was a doctor who had been the head of Planned Parenthood in Jamaica! It consisted of 13 members, 11 of whom were pro-abortion, including one token minister from the liberal Jamaican Council of Churches and one woman who claims to be a practicing Catholic.

Predictably, this advisory group submitted a report to Parliament last year advocating abortion-on-demand up to 22 weeks and allowing for abortions after up to the point of birth "under exceptional circumstances agreed by the woman and two authorized medical practitioners." In other words, they will tolerate no limits whatsoever to the killing of babies in Jamaica. These are the sentiments of the demonic abortion influence hanging over that island right now. 

NEW GOVERNMENT PUTS BABY-KILLING ON FRONT BURNER

A liberal government, the Jamaica Labor Party, came into power last September under the leadership of the Jesuit-educated Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, who proceeded to fast track the effort to liberalize abortion. Immediately the situation reached a critical stage. Parliament set up a special Select Committee to "debate" the issue and create draft legislation for a vote. No serious consultation of the people was scheduled, and they stated that the vote would be a "conscience vote," which is what every cowardly Parliamentary government does when it wants to push a controversial item but does not want the bad publicity to stick. There was no time frame for a vote either, which means they could have had a surprise vote at any time. Creatures of darkness operate this way all over the world-that is, unless they receive the principled resistance of the churches.

HLI assisted an alliance of churches and concerned civic groups with the planning of a press conference that was held at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston on February 7, 2008.  The Jamaican Coalition for the Defense of Life wanted to signal to the government in no uncertain terms that they will not accept this plan to legalize abortion-on-demand in Jamaica. It was a magnificent show of solidarity and unity. The speeches of the seven participating groups were just marvelous and are nothing short of the voice of conscience of their nation!

Furthermore, the press conference seemed to have the effect of stopping the momentum of the abortion onslaught. The headlines of both the major daily newspapers on the following day were indicative that the message hit home. The Jamaica Gleaner shouted from the front page in huge bold letters, "Oh, hell no! Church vows war should Gov't legalise abortion."  The Jamaica Observer was hardly less emphatic on its front page: "No to abortion. Church, Youth group knock policy review recommendation" with a full-length picture of Roman Catholic Archbishop Donald Reece and Rev. Peter Garth of the Jamaican Evangelical Association.

From that point on, the subject of abortion has been one of the main headlines and "controversial" topics of discussion in the country. Dr. Doreen Brady-West, the marvelous head of the Coalition, was adamant in her testimony from a medical perspective that there is absolutely nothing positive about bringing more abortion into their land. She was featured on the national television news channel that night, along with pictures of literature that HLI had provided to support the pro-life efforts down there.

It is hard to express my admiration at how valiantly the good pro-life people in Jamaica are taking up this battle. Since the press conference, there has been no end of public debate and discussion of the issue of abortion. The Jamaican people are actually getting a good look at what abortion is and what the consequences will be for their society if they liberalize their law. It just goes to show the truth of what HLI has always said: the people of a country never ask for abortion, and when they truly know what abortion entails, they usually reject it.

THE CHOICEST BLESING OF THE EFFORT

I have no doubt that God's grace was operating in an extraordinary way in and through that press conference. Just one month after the press conference was held, the brand new Youth for Life Jamaica group held a public rally and March for Life in the streets of the capital city, Kingston, and by all accounts, the effort was phenomenally successful. In fact, this was the first ever March for Life in Jamaica! Over six hundred young people attended with a marching band, placards, and a profound spirit of joy and zeal. Many of the signs they held were magnificent statements of things we have learned here during many long decades of fighting abortion.

Best of all was that the youth of Jamaica stood up and took a stand against this radical injustice that is being forced on their generation. They are planning two more Marches for Life in other cities of Jamaica, and HLI will certainly accompany them with our prayers and support! These young men and women are the perfect fruit of the pro-life efforts in Jamaica, and we must thank God that He has seen fit to bless that country with such zeal and enthusiasm for life.

THE BATTLE IS NOT OVER

But keep in mind that the battle is not over! The abortion promoters never sleep, and so the Church must always remain vigilant. Let us continue to pray for the valiant pro-lifers-and above all, the babies-in this island so dear to God.