Bajan Breakthrough – 25 years of legal abortions

Stabroek News – April 29, 2008
(Reprinted from T&T Review – March 3, 2008 )
By Sanka Price

As a politician there are some issues that no matter what decision you make, you are certain to anger a significant segment of the population.

One such issue is the legalisation of abortion.

You’re damned if you support it, and you damn others to suffering if you don’t.

Abortion is an issue that has strong religious, medical, and social arguments for and against it. And each side thinks they are correct.

Those who favour the right of a woman to decide if she should have an abortion are “pro-choice”. They see their goal as the empowerment of women, and the need to stop the death, disability, disfigurement and debilitating conditions scores of women endure from botched, ‘back street’ abortions.

Equally strong views are presented by those who maintain that once there is conception the emphasis must be on preserving the life of the foetus. They argue that although a woman has a right over her own body, she has no medical or legal right over the foetus because it is a separate individual with its own DNA, blood supply, and maybe, even a different blood type.

Steps to cushion food prices welcome, but women’s groups want VAT reduced

Stabroek News – April 29, 2008

Two women’s organisations said yesterday that while they welcomed the efforts by government to cushion the increasing prices of food, they still believe the steps taken so far, fall short of what is needed and are convinced that a reduction in VAT could go a far way.

Red Thread and Grassroots Women Across Race held a press conference to address the effects of the escalation in food prices on the survival of families and on the burden of the work that women carry
On May 1 the groups will hold a peaceful picketing exercise at the corner of Regent and Cummings streets, during which they hope to give a louder collective voice to their cries and demands.

“Our families cannot survive the daily increase in the price of food, prices of electricity and the high price of water,” they said.

They noted that on May Day there would be the traditional marches and speeches, but “will as usual not acknowledge or even consider our unwaged labour as caregivers in our homes and communities and through our religious bodies, whether we are mothers or not.”

The women feel that the speeches would not acknowledge women’s labour although it is “our unwaged caring labour that is holding up our families.”  

Minister Manickchand urges single parents to get registered

Guyana Chronicle – April 29, 2008

MINISTER of Human Services and Social Security, Ms. Priya Manickchand yesterday urged all single parents to get registered for the Single Parent Fund over a three-week period.

“The registration process to register all single parents was launched and we are going to attempt to get all single parents registered on a national single parent register,” she explained at a press conference.

Information collected from the registration process will help to plan effectively what interventions would be taken to assist single parent families.

She said this is going to be an ongoing programme since government realises the hardships single parents face.  

Man tricked woman seeking US visa with promise of marriage

- court hears
Stabroek News – April 29, 2008

A man was placed on a total of $195,000 bail yesterday when he appeared on charges of forgery in a US visa scam before Magistrate Melissa Robertson-Ogle in the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

Carlton Jackman, 57, allegedly took $100,000 from Maureen Persaud telling her that he would provide her with a US visa. The woman said she was supposed to marry Jackman to get to the United States but he tricked her instead.

He was slapped with charges of intent to defraud, uttering a forged document, that is a letter purported to be from the US Embassy Visa Section, and uttering the forged letter to Persaud to get the money from her.

The Lyng Street, Charlestown man pleaded not guilty and was placed on $65,000 bail for each charge. He will return to court on May 19.