Wildes

The following is an open letter to the Ministry of Health concerning the issuing of contraceptives to minors.

The Editor, Sir:

As Christian young people, ranging from ages 17-28, who have benefited from a tertiary education in our country, we believe it imperative to formally respond to a course of action being taken by our government that we deem to be unethical, unsound and short-sighted.

We should first state that though we have accessed official policy documents from the ministry's website outlining the goal and objective of this plan, we believe the wider public deserves a greater explanation with regard to this policy.

We write to advise the ministry that we are unswervingly opposed to the giving of contraceptives to minors and have raised some questions and objections concerning this new policy that we believe must be addressed.

We believe this policy is unethical for the following reasons:

1. The giving of contraceptives to minors represents a complete shift in the moral compass of our nation and we believe that such a significant moral decision should require the input of every stakeholder in this country, and should not rest upon the verdict of any one ministry of government.

2. Will the ministry also make contraceptives available to minors involved in homosexual relationships, or a youth who is sexually involved with an adult? Will anything be done to combat the illegal and distasteful experimentation by minors that may result from this policy?

3. We are concerned about the possible implications this policy may have for our religious and moral freedom as a people. How will the ministry respond to a health worker who in respect of religious or moral convictions refuses to issue contraceptives to minors?

We believe this policy is short-sighted for the following reasons:

1. From a document entitled the National Strategic Plan for the Promotion of Healthy Lifestyles in Jamaica 2004-2008 on the ministry's website, it was stated that the goal of this policy is to have "appropriate sexual behaviour of the pre-adolescents, adolescents and youth improved." While this is a commendable goal, are we sure that this policy is the best approach to that end?

2. We understand that minors having sex is a reality but why have we chosen a protective and not a preventative approach to this issue? The distribution of contraceptives though it may manage the rate of births and the spread of HIV/AIDS periodically, it may do very little to change the perceptions of minors that sex should be delayed until they are married, which may seriously affect sexual relations in our country for years to come.

Finally, we believe the policy is unsafe for the following reasons:

1. Considering the natural response of human beings to incentives, how will we encourage those who are now abstaining to remain abstinent if it appears to them that even the government is encouraging premarital sex?

2. How will this new policy affect the sustainable influence of the family in our society? What is the message being sent to children when, facing critical life decisions, they are allowed to choose clearly objectionable paths on their own with the assurance that their parents or guardians will never be notified about their lifestyle? We believe parents, and not any government ministry, reserve the moral right to guide and teach what moral paths youth should take; policy should really therefore be geared at empowering parents and guardians to better execute their roles.

3. The fact that 50 per cent of youth become sexually involved by 16, tells the story of the other 50 per cent who show that it is possible to choose to delay sexually involvement. We must be careful that we are not encouraging a culture of hedonism, in which the will and reason are nonexistent and every urge must be fulfilled. Sexual urges can be controlled, or we would have no grounds on which to charge rapists.

On behalf of the following Christian youth groups:

FiwiVoice.com, The University and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UWI), Campus Crusade for Christ Jamaica (Campus Kairos) (at UWI, UTech and Edna Manley School of Performing Arts), The University and Colleges Apostolic Ministries (UWI) Xtreme Impact Jamaica.

I am, etc.,

Andrew M. Wildes

Executive director

www.fiwivoice.com