Turks & Caicos Medical Professionals speak on Abortions

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, July 6, 2022 – Americans on either side of the Pro-Choice, Pro-Life debate were shocked last week when the Supreme Court announced it would overturn the landmark Roe v Wade case legalizing abortion nationwide. For some it was a pleasant shock for others not so much. The Turks and Caicos legislation much like the rest of the Caribbean is squarely on the pro-life side of the debate.

“The current legislation does not permit for elective abortions however there are certain instances where it may be deemed as medically necessary,” Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jeremy Myers explained.

“In that case that very hard decision can be made and that process is undertaken at the facility in the Turks and Caicos.” Myers said.

He noted that while they were illegal without medical cause some people still smuggled pills and the like into the country for that purpose.

“There are illegitimate avenues, as we are aware—- this can be done by persons who have access to pharmaceuticals that are illegally imported from other institutions and they essentially go the back route.”

Chief of Medical Services Dr. Dawn Perry Ewing explained how a situation like this would progress.

“There is a specific process that has to be undertaken. If we have a situation where for example a fetus whose condition makes him or her unlikely to survive after birth— a petition has to be placed to the level of the attorney general’s chambers for consideration of a waiver.”

Magnetic Media contacted the Attorney General’s office to find out how many of these petitions were placed on average but were told that the office does not handle abortion requests.

There has been no significant push on the islands to legalize abortion and the Turks and Caicos’ birth rate remains lower than the worlds average crude birth rate.

The birth rate has hovered at around 11 to 13 percent for the past 5 years. Well behind the international average of 18 percent.