Former head of the Medical Association of Jamaica and senior consultant gynaecologist, Dr Errol Daley, says the abuse of the drug Cytotec is just one manifestation of the need to quickly legalise abortions and train the doctors who perform them.

"The majority of people doing abortions are not properly trained and that is so because the law does not permit abortions," Daley tells The Sunday Gleaner. "Because the law forbids abortion, all the people who do abortions are virtually self-trained and because of that, there has been abuse of all kinds of things, including Cytotec abuse," he adds.

death or severe problems

According to Daley, one quarter of abortions done locally are performed unsafely, a fact which results in "death or severe problems, including bleeding, infection, infertility, later miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies".

"Maternal mortality is not high, but we do not hear about those who are alive but suffer tremendously," the gynaecologist states, adding "training is not a complex issue. The Ministry of Health should pursue this."

Noting that it was the poor who resorted to quacks and buying the 'white pill', or Cytotec, on the street, Daley states: "It is the responsibility of Government to provide places where abortions are available safely. We will never be able to prevent abortions from happening. What we need to do is provide safety. The law needs to be looked at carefully."

not done safely

He notes that in countries which allow abortion, "It is done safely because people are trained. Here, the doctors are self-trained, and a lot of other people are doing abortions who are not doctors. I have had several encounters. Women also try to induce abortions on themselves, using unsafe methods."

The number of unwanted pregnancies globally is a constant and predictable figure (180 unwanted pregnancies per 1,000), says Daley, who believes that the greater use of contraception should be promoted.

"Whether we like it or not, women who have an unwanted pregnancy will abort. It is our responsibility to see that it be done safely. Women do it because they have no other option," he argues.

According to Daley, women do not generally use abortion as a contraceptive method. "That is not true in my over 30 years of experience. When they know they cannot support or have a child, they are going to abort it, even if it involves unsafe methods," he says. "The consequences for those who do it unsafely is that they might lose their ability to have children and do not heal properly."

"We have to provide a way in which it (abortion) can be safely done. Abortionists need training and it is the Government's responsibility to decide who, when, where and up to what time in pregnancy. We cannot have women resorting to unsafe procedures which sometimes kill them," the gynaecologist emphasises.