The Editor SIR,
This letter is in response to the news article published in the Jamaica Gleaner on Sunday January 3, 2021 titled, ‘New year hope- First babies of 2021 blessing for moms’, which illuminates the hypocrisy and conflict of interest exuding from the State Minister of Health Mrs. Cuthbert Flynn as she visited three mothers in Hospitals congratulating them on the birth of their babies on the much anticipated New Year’s Day. This motion is being bolstered by her unrelenting agenda resurfacing in a subsequent news article, ‘Tackle abortion issue now- Cuthbert Flynn wants Jamaicans to think more progressive following Argentina’s landmark ruling’ with publishing date Friday January 8, 2021. In which she expressed: “The win for Argentina is a huge win for Latin American countries and also our Caribbean islands who have not updated their laws, and I think in Jamaica, we need to now look at what is happening. It is an issue that we must tackle.” In a situation as this, the idiomatic expression can be applied, ‘You can’t have your cake and eat it at the same time.’ I would say to Mrs. Cuthbert Flynn, you cannot be on both sides of the fence. You are either for or against; pro-life or pro-choice. How ironic and bothersome it is that you are giving the stamp of approval and support in one situation and advocating for murder in the next. What is even more opposing is her allegiance to the political party steered by a leader who has concurred that children are a blessing. In an older article titled, ‘PM: Children are a blessing’, published Sunday June 21, 2020 Prime Minister Andrew Holness shared his view in which he pointed out that whether planned or unplanned, children are a blessing. This, therefore, has highlighted perspectives that are incompatible and antagonistic to each other and to the welfare of the nation.
We continue to affirm that life begins at conception and that abortion is an intentional act of killing an unborn child who has a right to life and is entitled to protection by his family, the society and the State.
Dannieth Powell
Love March Movement