STATEMENT: Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society says Dr McDonald's abortion comments ‘incoherent’

The Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society (JCHS) views with serious concern the recent statement, as reported in the Gleaner of Friday, February 5, 2021, by Dr. Garth McDonald, Senior Medical Officer (SMO) of the Victoria Jubilee Hospital, expressing support of the legalisation of abortion.  How incoherent it is for the SMO of Jamaica’s main maternity hospital, an institution whose aim is to assist in bringing  innocent unborn children into the world, to promote legalisation of the unlawful killing of the same innocent unborn children.

Every Obstetrician/Gynaecologist (OBGYN) caring for a pregnant mother is caring for two patients, the mother and her unborn child. The unborn child is the “other patient”. Under different circumstances, when the unborn child is cutting-edge innovations like intrauterine surgery or blood transfusion are proudly announced and hailed with great fanfare.

One reliable feature of both Truth and Goodness is coherence.  It is therefore logical that moral evil is characterised by incoherence. Doctors caring for pregnant mothers advise them to take folic acid in very early pregnancy in order to prevent neural tube defects like spina bifida, which cause serious neurological problems.  In fact, women who intend to get pregnant should commence this medication before pregnancy in order to protect their babies from the first day of conception.  How incoherent then, for any doctor to claim that it is acceptable to kill babies in the womb, at even later stages of pregnancy.  There is no essential biological difference between a desired baby and an inconvenient one. Such an assertion would be anti-scientific and illogical.

In the famous Hand of Hope photo, Michael Clancy captured the image of the tiny hand of the 21-week foetus Samuel Armas Junior grasping a surgeon's finger who carried out ground- breaking corrective surgery on Samuel for spina bifida, while he was still in his mother’s womb.  Today, Samuel is a 21 year-old pro-life advocate.  If at 22 weeks, his mother no longer desired to be pregnant, would it have been acceptable for the OBGYN to kill him?

There is too much bloodshed in Jamaica.  We ought not to add abortion of the unborn to the growing list of victims. Murder is murder no matter the size of the victim. Please rethink your position Dr McDonald.