FROM THE PUBLISHER ’ S DESK
There is no such thing as ' pro-abortion '
People who are “ pro-life ” are “ anti-abortion .” But “ pro-choice ” advocates are not necessarily “ pro-abortion ” or “ anti-life .” Several women on Guam who push for the right to privacy are mothers . Some doctors who endorse reproductive rights help mothers give birth .
But we ’ re trapped in these judgmental categorizations , ignoring details and reducing our discourse to hysterical condemnation . Pro-lifers scream , “ Murderers !”
No pregnant woman wakes up and makes a whimsical decision to get an abortion . No woman gets an abortion and leaves the clinic with glee . “ Yay ! The baby is gone !”
It ’ s an emotionally abounding decision pressed by a whole host of problems including trauma from sexual abuse , the health of the pregnant person and the fetus , age of the pregnant person , financial hardships and other circumstances that matter to the person who has to make such a heart-wrenching decision . It ’ s not an easy predicament to deal with , especially when the choice is taken away from you .
I have two children . The first one I conceived when I was fresh out of college and just starting my career in journalism . I made a personal choice . It was liberating because it was a personal decision .
The abortion debate never ends . Now the U . S . Supreme Court ’ s Dobbs decision that overruled the five-decadeold Roe v . Wade sends us back to the streets , marching and shouting .
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No pregnant woman wakes up and makes a whimsical decision to get an abortion . No woman gets an abortion and leaves the clinic with glee . “ Yay ! The baby is gone !”
While abortion is still legal on Guam , the court ’ s ruling that leaves policy decisions to individual jurisdictions causes us to panic .
The Guam legislature has a history of conservatism when it comes to abortion . In 1990 , the Guam legislature attempted to impose a complete ban on abortion through Public Law 20-134 that would send the “ guilty ” to jail . The law was voided by the District Court of Guam by virtue of the now-eliminated Roe v . Wade . The ruling was based on a lawsuit filed by the Guam Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Guam Nurses Association .
Currently pending in the 36th Guam Legislature is Sen . Telena Nelson ’ s Guam Heartbeat Act of 2022 , which proposes to prohibit abortion for women who are in their fifth to sixth week of pregnancy .
Despite the legality of abortion on Guam , the service is not currently available due to the lack of doctors to perform the procedure . Layers of legal restrictions discourage doctors from offering the service .
Women who need an abortion have to spend thousands of dollars to get it done offshore . Those who cannot afford the travel expenses are left with no choice but to carry on with their unwanted pregnancy . Hence , infants are left abandoned at Guam Memorial Hospital .
Let ’ s face it : ideological imposition will not resolve one ’ s dilemma . Women will do what they have to do . If abortion is completely banned and the safe option is out of the picture , women will resort to the back alley .
I understand that the Guam community is deeply divided on this issue . But it cannot be resolved by a frenzied debate or a legislative dictate .
As Sen . Mary Torres pointed out , the right to privacy is too big of an issue to be decided by just 15 members of the Guam Legislature .
At the Guam Medical Association ’ s July 27 debate , Gov . Lou Leon Guerrero , an advocate of pro-choice , and Congressman Michael San Nicolas , who is on the pro-life side , agreed to have the question posed to the people of Guam through a referendum .
None of my own arguments are new . But in a democratic society , making the people decide is the best way to settle a fierce disagreement .
Publisher / Editor-in-Chief Mar-Vic Cagurangan publisher @ pacificislandtimes . com
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