Fuad: Let’s debate abortion

Speaking in the wake of the discovery of a dead, newborn baby girl at the Beetham Landfill, Port-of-Spain, on Tuesday, Khan said the situation again reflected the need for urgent and comprehensive discussion on the issue.

Khan took to social media on Friday to air his concerns about the thorny issues, posting a video on Facebook in which he also spoke out against the bureaucracy in the Adoption Board.

Scavengers reportedly found the baby’s body in a garbage bag around 5.30 am and immediately alerted their supervisors.

Forensic pathologist Dr Valery Alexandrov, who said the baby was carried to full term and devoid of abnormalities, said the case should be deemed an infanticide. He said the baby died as a result of abandonment.

Khan said the only reason the baby could have been dumped at the landfill was because it was an unwanted child.

“A lot of these people have nowhere to go and nobody to turn to,” he said.

“They don’t have money for terminations.

They don’t have anything because it is done clandestinely in the country.

“So, it is time that the discussion starts that termination has to be dealt with for young people who do not want their children.” Khan said he had raised the issue since 2011 when he was health minister in the People’s Partnership Government.

“People will say why I did not say that when I was minister. But I am on record talking about abortions and the need for proper terminations and legislation.” Khan recalled that the issue surfaced again, one year ago, with Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley indicated that the topic will be discussed even though Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh had shut it down.

“But we have to be a little more specific than just consultations.” During a post-Cabinet news briefing in April 2016, Rowley had said that while abortion was illegal, discussions on the issue will be ongoing because “sometimes one had to challenge the law in order to solve problems more meaningfully.” Yesterday, Khan said religious bodies will continue to resist such discussions.

“They like to kick a fuss because that is where there relevance comes in and they utilise the unseen God,” he said. “But you have to think about human beings, human behaviour and I would like the Government to at least, discuss it and listen to the cries of the population.

There is something called pro-choice. We follow everything from the United States of America, why not follow pro-choice?” The San Juan/Barataria MP also pointed to another reason why the issue of abortion was being avoided.

“Nobody (politicians) wants to address it because you could lose votes. If you are going to lose votes, rather than deal with something that affects life, then something is wrong with the whole society.” Gynaecologist Dr Jehan Ali also believes the time has come for frank discussion on abortion in relation to specific cases.

However, he said this must be viewed in the context of the baby’s physical disposition and the country’s religious and social realities. Khan also complained about the onerousness of the adoption process in this country for well-meaning couples.

“To get any child adopted through the Adoption Board is like pulling teeth. All their rules and regulations is for people not to adopt children.” Khan said drop boxes, which is used in some countries to address unwanted babies, could be considered locally “because it is necessary.”