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Grenada

Articles by Grenada

Ripple effects: How Roe v. Wade's overturn impacted the Caribbean
01 July 2024

Ripple effects: How Roe v. Wade's overturn impacted the Caribbean

Did the US Supreme Court decision embolden anti-abortion movements in the Caribbean to press for stricter abortion laws in their own countries? In 2022, when Roe v. Wade was overturned in the US, many sexual and reproductive health professionals, advocates, and citizens alike were certain that this decision was the beginning of the end for any hopes the Caribbean had at freeing ourselves of the colonial-era British laws that restricted or outright banned abortion in most of the region. Fortunately, there has not been any indication that the anti-abortion movement has been emboldened. I’m only aware of a few religious leaders making public statements in support of the US’s decision. It appears that since the overturn of Roe v Wade, the abortion movement in the region has been revitalized. However, we recognize that we cannot remain complacent, as there has been a rise in the anti-abortion rhetoric and policies. In some Latin American countries, for example, Peru approved the “fetal personhood” bill, and in Honduras lawmakers increased the number of votes needed to repeal its abortion ban.   Did Caribbean nations with more progressive abortion policies face increased pressure to adopt stricter laws due to the US shift? Interestingly, Caribbean countries with stricter abortion laws are being challenged. Advocates for Safe Parenthood: Improving Reproductive Equity (ASPIRE) has been, and still is leading a series of research in several Caribbean countries to make an evidence-based case for decriminalizing abortion in the region. In June, a historic constitutional challenge to the colonial-era abortion laws in Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica were filed in those jurisdictions. Two women and two health care providers in those countries have bravely stepped forward to ask the courts to consider the constitutionality of those laws and their impact on women and health care providers. The first hearing is scheduled in the court in Antigua on September 17, 2024.   Did US restrictions on abortion funding for international organizations impact access to safe abortion services in the Caribbean? Like many other developing countries that rely on the US for funding, whether it is directly or indirectly through international non-governmental organizations, the Global Gag Rule (GGR) has had a far-reaching negative impact on abortion, other sexual and reproductive health services, including maternal and child health. A 2019 study showed GGR is associated with a threefold increase in the odds of women getting an abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean, the highest in the regions reviewed.    Did the US abortion policy shift contribute to increased stigma and discrimination against women seeking abortions in the Caribbean?  Despite the high prevalence of abortion in the Caribbean region, as our recent research is revealing, abortion is highly stigmatized because it is viewed largely from a moral lens. However, based on the work we are doing in the region, we have not collected any data to determine if any of the stigma and discrimination against women seeking abortions in the Caribbean can be attributed to the US abortion shift.  However, it is likely that the US decision has played some role. Abortion is among the safest medical procedures and should be a decision between a woman and her doctor. If we are to be successful in having more progressive abortion laws, or outright decriminalization, women and girls must be supported to tell their stories about their experiences. They must know that they are not alone in their experience, and that they have a right to protect their health and their life – there is nothing shameful about that.

Grenada Planned Parenthood Association

The Grenada Planned Parenthood Association (GPPA) runs 2 full-time clinics in St. George's and St. Andrew's. GPPA’s aim is to provide the population with the knowledge and the means to choose whether, when and how many children to have. It links its work with 50 Member Association social marketing operations, 1 government outlet, 3 private physicians and 2 other agencies. 

GPPA clinics offer comprehensive reproductive health services and counselling, including pap smears, pregnancy tests and contraceptives. The organization provides training for nurses, and family planning information and education on a national scale through media activity and community meetings. A key objective is to reduce the country’s relatively high rate of teenage pregnancy, which has serious impacts on health, well-being and life-prospects for both mothers and children. To this end, GPPA runs youth health clinics which provide sexual and reproductive health (SRH) advice, and skills and remedial academic training for teenagers who have dropped out of the formal education system.

ADS is an associate member of an umbrella organization known as the Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation Ltd (CFPA).

The Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation (CFPA) is the only regional non-governmental organization (NGO) devoted to family planning and sexual and reproductive health in the Caribbean. CFPA serves 13 island Member Associations and 5 Associate Member Associations in the Caribbean, Central and South America. It supports these Associations with technical assistance and materials, and represents their collective interests at IPPF meetings and in the Caribbean region among governments and NGOs.

CFPA Member Associations are located in Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Nevis and St. Kitts, St. Lucia and St. Vincent. CFPA Associate Member Associations are located in Belize, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The CFPA does not offer any clinical services or distribute family planning methods to clients, but rather focuses its work on governance and institution-building among its Member Associations. The CFPA oversees, manages and analyses core grants to 7 Caribbean Member Associations. The CFPA also submits project proposals for donor funding on behalf of the Associations.

Ripple effects: How Roe v. Wade's overturn impacted the Caribbean
01 July 2024

Ripple effects: How Roe v. Wade's overturn impacted the Caribbean

Did the US Supreme Court decision embolden anti-abortion movements in the Caribbean to press for stricter abortion laws in their own countries? In 2022, when Roe v. Wade was overturned in the US, many sexual and reproductive health professionals, advocates, and citizens alike were certain that this decision was the beginning of the end for any hopes the Caribbean had at freeing ourselves of the colonial-era British laws that restricted or outright banned abortion in most of the region. Fortunately, there has not been any indication that the anti-abortion movement has been emboldened. I’m only aware of a few religious leaders making public statements in support of the US’s decision. It appears that since the overturn of Roe v Wade, the abortion movement in the region has been revitalized. However, we recognize that we cannot remain complacent, as there has been a rise in the anti-abortion rhetoric and policies. In some Latin American countries, for example, Peru approved the “fetal personhood” bill, and in Honduras lawmakers increased the number of votes needed to repeal its abortion ban.   Did Caribbean nations with more progressive abortion policies face increased pressure to adopt stricter laws due to the US shift? Interestingly, Caribbean countries with stricter abortion laws are being challenged. Advocates for Safe Parenthood: Improving Reproductive Equity (ASPIRE) has been, and still is leading a series of research in several Caribbean countries to make an evidence-based case for decriminalizing abortion in the region. In June, a historic constitutional challenge to the colonial-era abortion laws in Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica were filed in those jurisdictions. Two women and two health care providers in those countries have bravely stepped forward to ask the courts to consider the constitutionality of those laws and their impact on women and health care providers. The first hearing is scheduled in the court in Antigua on September 17, 2024.   Did US restrictions on abortion funding for international organizations impact access to safe abortion services in the Caribbean? Like many other developing countries that rely on the US for funding, whether it is directly or indirectly through international non-governmental organizations, the Global Gag Rule (GGR) has had a far-reaching negative impact on abortion, other sexual and reproductive health services, including maternal and child health. A 2019 study showed GGR is associated with a threefold increase in the odds of women getting an abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean, the highest in the regions reviewed.    Did the US abortion policy shift contribute to increased stigma and discrimination against women seeking abortions in the Caribbean?  Despite the high prevalence of abortion in the Caribbean region, as our recent research is revealing, abortion is highly stigmatized because it is viewed largely from a moral lens. However, based on the work we are doing in the region, we have not collected any data to determine if any of the stigma and discrimination against women seeking abortions in the Caribbean can be attributed to the US abortion shift.  However, it is likely that the US decision has played some role. Abortion is among the safest medical procedures and should be a decision between a woman and her doctor. If we are to be successful in having more progressive abortion laws, or outright decriminalization, women and girls must be supported to tell their stories about their experiences. They must know that they are not alone in their experience, and that they have a right to protect their health and their life – there is nothing shameful about that.

Grenada Planned Parenthood Association

The Grenada Planned Parenthood Association (GPPA) runs 2 full-time clinics in St. George's and St. Andrew's. GPPA’s aim is to provide the population with the knowledge and the means to choose whether, when and how many children to have. It links its work with 50 Member Association social marketing operations, 1 government outlet, 3 private physicians and 2 other agencies. 

GPPA clinics offer comprehensive reproductive health services and counselling, including pap smears, pregnancy tests and contraceptives. The organization provides training for nurses, and family planning information and education on a national scale through media activity and community meetings. A key objective is to reduce the country’s relatively high rate of teenage pregnancy, which has serious impacts on health, well-being and life-prospects for both mothers and children. To this end, GPPA runs youth health clinics which provide sexual and reproductive health (SRH) advice, and skills and remedial academic training for teenagers who have dropped out of the formal education system.

ADS is an associate member of an umbrella organization known as the Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation Ltd (CFPA).

The Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation (CFPA) is the only regional non-governmental organization (NGO) devoted to family planning and sexual and reproductive health in the Caribbean. CFPA serves 13 island Member Associations and 5 Associate Member Associations in the Caribbean, Central and South America. It supports these Associations with technical assistance and materials, and represents their collective interests at IPPF meetings and in the Caribbean region among governments and NGOs.

CFPA Member Associations are located in Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Bermuda, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Nevis and St. Kitts, St. Lucia and St. Vincent. CFPA Associate Member Associations are located in Belize, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The CFPA does not offer any clinical services or distribute family planning methods to clients, but rather focuses its work on governance and institution-building among its Member Associations. The CFPA oversees, manages and analyses core grants to 7 Caribbean Member Associations. The CFPA also submits project proposals for donor funding on behalf of the Associations.