Dear Editor,

Thirty years ago, on May 4, 1995, the National Assembly passed the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill (MTOP). Five weeks later, on June 14, President Cheddi Jagan assented to it. Then on October 14, the Regulations appeared in the Gazette. That landmark legislation was the first liberal abortion law in Central and South America.

Then Minister of Health Gail Teixeira, with support from her colleague, the Minister of Human Services and Social Security Indranie Chandarpal, were the principal agents of this bold step. This was only the second positive law of abortion in the English-speaking Caribbean. The first was in Barbados in 1983. It is stunning that in the last 30 years there has been no further liberal abortion legislation in our region. As we approach the 30th anniversary, the question we must face in our review is this: How well have we done? How does the balance sheet of what we are proud of stack up against our regrets?

Immediately after the six-hour debate, in an interview with Stabroek News, 5 May 1995, an exhausted Texeira shared her mood and her expectations: “Relieved. But there is so much work to be done now, and I hope everyone will cooperate, all NGOs, churches, and all health staff will work as one to ensure that our aims to reduce abortions and save lives will come to pass.”

Hawley Harris, a cartoonist, depicted the difference between the successful campaign for the new law as a sprint and the challenge of implementation as a marathon. Legalization is relatively easy; implementation is very difficult.

Thirty years is a long time. To put that in perspective, about 55% of our population was born after 1995. More important for our present focus is that 28% of our health professionals were not even born in 1995. And another 44% were at most only 10 years old in 1995. What would those 72% know about the abortion law?

A small group of us has done two surveys to inform our discussion. Both are surveys that were first done 32 years ago, and which became the platform of evidence of the campaign for our new law. Over the course of the next twelve months, we should reflect on how well we have run that marathon. We encourage readers to engage with us.

Sincerely,

Fred Nunes

Advocates for Safe Parenthood Improving Reproductive Equity (ASPIRE)