LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Adolescent fertility and adult responsibility

Disclaimer: The views, and claims, expressed in this letter are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of Duravision Inc., Dominica News Online, or any of its subsidiary brands.

Dear Editor: [email protected]

Adolescent Fertility and Adult Responsibility

We are burdened with the seventh highest adolescent fertility rate (AFR) in the Caribbean. Dominica is above the Caribbean average and a shocking 30 points higher than Bermuda.

This is not a level playing field. About 80% of teen pregnancies result from relations with men 20 years and older. Teenage fertility is almost entirely an adult male responsibility.

Yet, despite this appalling situation, Dominica has not followed five other Caribbean countries and provided teenagers with legal access to healthcare without parental consent.

All the countries that have modified their Age of Majority Acts have lower AFRs than we do.

Grenada has a Bill before its parliament to reduce the age from 18 to 16 and is contemplating reducing it further to 12.

A reduction to 16 only corrects a silly legal gap. While sex is lawful at 16, access to contraceptives is not lawful until 18, a remarkable absurdity.

But at 16, 71% of teens are already sexually active. Allowing access then is far too late.

By age 14, 29% are sexually active, many of them involuntarily. If we want to address this urgent social problem, we must allow access to healthcare without parental consent by age 12, at the latest.

The notion of parental consent floats on the assumption of parental responsibility. That is not the case in our region: More than 90% of parents never speak with their children about sex, far less about responsible sex. This is nothing short of parental negligence.

Given this situation, the state has a duty of care and should provide a legal channel for teens to have access to professional healthcare information and services.

What will it take for our government to address this quiet crisis of adolescent health? After all, fertility is only the visible tip of the iceberg: the vast volume of incest, rape, and gender-based violence remains unseen.

Sincerely,
ASPIRE

ASPIRE is a pro-motherhood, pro-family, pro-choice, 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.