The morality debate continues
THE moral issues being debated include the three most contentious activities relevant to humankind, namely abortion, homosexuality and sodomy. The recent Bill Johnson poll dealing with abortion concluded that 69 per cent of people polled were against any change in the law which maintains that abortion remains an illegal practice.
Let us examine the circumstances surrounding those who request an abortion. The first arbitrary classification would be those aged under 18 years old, and secondly 18 years old and beyond. Culpability is a chief consideration in determining who is responsible for not using a contraceptive. On the other hand, if a partner refused to use a condom then the objector should be blamed for this omission.
Parents have the paramount responsibility for instructing their children in the mechanics of procreation. Some are of the opinion that such knowledge can be best imparted by a trained third party. Here we must differ because parents, they are your children; and children, they are your parents. There is a variety of contraceptives, condoms for both sexes, injectables, and post-intercourse application in capsule form, all of which are available today supported by formal instruction in their use at lectures and information-gathering sessions. Ignorance of their availability and their use is regrettable.
The second arbitrary group of 18 years old and beyond is probably the most promiscuous and knowledgeable about sexual issues. The availability and variety of contraceptive products should be no mystery to this age group. However, the final arbiter for those living in a Christian country is the use of free will; the perennial gift of the Creator that separates humans from animals. In other words, conscience reflects the decision of free will, particularly if the decisive result is contentious.
“Human life must be respected and protected from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human must be recognised as having the rights of a person among which is the inviolable right of every innocent human being to life. Since the first century the Christian Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law. In extreme situations of distress, the alternative to abortion lies in the existence to Father Richard Ho Lung’s charity group which opened the Holy Innocents, an alternative to abortion for pregnant women in trouble, Women in Crisis Centre in Kingston.
“Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on sacred scripture, which presents homosexual acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.”
The second moral issue covered by the Bill Johnson poll relates to men indulging in penetrative sex with other men, which is referred to as buggery or sodomy; 91 per cent of Jamaicans believe that lawmakers should make no attempt to repeal the controversial buggery law, which makes it a criminal offence to engage in anal sex. The following Gleaner observation demonstrates the depth of antagonism surrounding this issue: 65 per cent pf persons polled believe that gays should not have the same rights as other people under the Jamaican legal system. In an earlier 2008 poll, it was revealed that 70 per cent of Jamaicans believe homosexuals and lesbians should not be entitled to the same basic rights and privileges enjoyed by heterosexual Jamaicans.
The results of the Bill Johnson polls sound a positive swing against the danger to the three moralities and should serve as a very clear indicator for the Government if and when it comes to a vote; when MPs must vote according to the sentiments of their constituents regardless of their personal view on the matter. “The Christian Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well to the parents and the whole of society. We leave the situation as a contradictory one, in that 170,000 abortions were carried out in the Caribbean in 2008, according to the Gleaner report of 7th October, thereby extinguishing the lives of 170,000 unborn foetuses whose only crime was being born. However, we saved the lives of those who committed the most heinous crimes but may live to tell the tale when they are released from jail on completing their sentences. De profundis ad te clamavi Deum!