Disclaimer<\/strong>:\u00a0The views, and claims, expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of Duravision Inc, Dominica News Online, or any of its subsidiary brands.<\/em><\/p>\nThose good people who oppose our constitutional challenge to the abortion law, claim that \u201cIf you make abortion legal, you will encourage licentious sexual activity, especially among the young. That is so obvious. There will be no restraint.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the loud, probably sincere, but false claim. It is popular, but it is fictional and fueled by fear.<\/p>\n
The facts of legalization in Barbados and Guyana prove otherwise. The number of abortions at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) fell by 53% in just 10 years after abortion was legalized in 1983.\u00a0 The drop among teenagers was even higher at 58.9%.<\/p>\n
Similarly, in Guyana, the abortion rate is 20% lower than it was before abortion was legalized in 1995.<\/p>\n
And now the facts from Catholic Argentina (63%) show the same story. There, the government introduced a three-layer model.\u00a0 They gave teenagers 16-17 full autonomy.\u00a0 They allowed teens 13-15 independent access providing there was no serious risk.\u00a0 And for those 12 and younger, they allowed access but required access, the presence of an adult chosen by the child.<\/p>\n
In just six years with this model, the adolescent fertility rate among teens 15-19 fell from 62.6 to 27, a drop of almost 57%.\u00a0 That is remarkable.\u00a0This is what evidence-based health policy can accomplish.<\/p>\n
We can stick to our fear-based practice and embrace our horrible results.\u00a0 Of course, continuing to do what we know does not work, is what a very smart man called madness.<\/p>\n
Or we can find the courage to try a new approach based on facts and evidence. We can replace obstacles and ignorance with access and education.<\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
ASPIRE<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
ASPIRE is a pro-motherhood, pro-choice, pro-life, non-governmental advocacy group registered in Dominica and five other Caribbean countries. It promotes research and dialogue with civil society and governments to advance fairness and justice in reproductive health.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Adolescent Fertility Rate: Argentina, 2015-2021 Source: CEDEs Annual 2022 Report. The Paths of the Argentine Experience with Legal Abortion, June 2023. Disclaimer:\u00a0The views, and claims, expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not…","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":355023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[16,77,235,9,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-355003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-educationyouth","category-homepage","category-homepage-carousel","category-news","category-politics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCOMMENTARY: Fear and Fictions V Fact and Evidence - Dominica News Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/commentary-fear-and-fictions-v-fact-and-evidence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"COMMENTARY: Fear and Fictions V Fact and Evidence - Dominica News Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Adolescent Fertility Rate: Argentina, 2015-2021 Source: CEDEs Annual 2022 Report. 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