physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped.7 Under this Act, abortions may
also be executed on juridical and socio-economic grounds, where “the medical practitioner must
take into account the pregnant woman’s social and economic environment, whether actual or
foreseeable," and where the pregnant woman's reasonable belief that her pregnancy resulted from
an act of rape or incest is sufficient to amount to grave injury to her mental health. Additionally,
the Act requires the consent of a parent or guardian where the pregnant woman is under 16 years
of age or of unsound mind.
Therefore, an evaluation of the legislative process on abortion laws in Barbados suggests that
there are now specific guidelines incorporated within the legislation which provides clarification
for medical practitioners. However, in Trinidad and Tobago, the laws on abortion remain
stagnant since it is unlawful to perform an abortion for social or economic reasons, in cases of
rape or incest, or for foetal indications of severe impairment. These limitations arguably accounts
for the ambiguity of the law of abortion but it also leads to the occurrences of illegal and unsafe
abortions performed by pregnant women.
This leads to the issue of whether there would be possible advantages for the citizen and the
government if abortion were legal in the conditions of rape, incest, foetal impairment and
pregnancies of minors. The territory of Guyana provides a satisfactory example of how abortion
has impacted upon the health and medical system. Abortion is legal and available in Guyana
under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 1995, which became operational in early 1996.
In fact, it is the only Caribbean Commonwealth country which has legalized abortion without
restriction as to reason. The preamble to the Act states that it sought to ‘…reform the law relating
to medical terminations of pregnancy, to enhance the dignity and sanctity of life by reducing the
incidence of induced abortion, to enhance the attainment of safe motherhood by eliminating
deaths and complications due to unsafe abortion, to prescribe those circumstances in which any
woman voluntarily and in good faith wishes to terminate her pregnancy may lawfully do so and
to provide for matters connected therewith.’ 8
7
United Nations Population Division Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Abortion Policies: A Global Review
(2002).
8
Ramsaroop, Stella. "Abortion rights and wrongs." Guyana's Stabroek News, 28 January 2012.
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