Medieval Knights returning from their Crusades would feel right at home with the mutterings of some of Jamaica's parliamentarians.
ALL THIS talk about enforced sterilisation and virginity testing throws the country back into a time warp, somewhere in the hazy Medieval past, spewing up images from the history books of valiant Knights returning from their Crusades, somewhere in the 12th century, with the keys to unlock the padlocks affixed to chastity belts fastened around their ladies' waist and genitals.
Because in that peculiar period of human sexological development, a Knight's lady should be unobtainable, her virtue guarded and protected from penetration. Warfare was not only about defending the state and a man's honour but about defending a woman's virtue.
RECYCLED OLD IDEAS
So, it is that parliamentarians Sharon Hay-Webster and Ernie Smith have recycled old ideas of forcing women to have their "tubes tied" and doing virginity testing. Well, at least the "virginity testing" argument can be quickly put to rest, because gynaecologists are still trying to figure out what that is.
"What I would like to know, as well, is how would you do the virginity test on the boys," said Dr. Douglas McDonald, consultant gynaecologist and senior medical officer, Victoria Jubilee (Maternity) Hospital.
His colleague, Dr. Errol Daley, also confirms that there is no reliable test for virginity.
"What we can say is that if a lady's hymen is in tact then we can say that she has never had sex but if she has lost the hymen, that doesn't means that she has had sexual intercourse because the hymen can be broken in several other ways. Nobody can examine a woman and say that she
is not a virgin," said Dr. Daley, consultant gynaecologist and president of the Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ).
On the matter of enforced sterilisation, tubal ligation or tying the tubes, the world's psyche has already travelled centuries ahead. It has already sifted through issues of medical ethics, patients' rights, human rights, the women's liberation movement and the post-modern era, structured family planning services and so on.
"Tubal ligation is not compulsory. the mother must be adequately counselled before she signs an informed consent form ... We recommend it for women with high parity (many children) but we cannot hold down the patient and do it," said Dr. McDonald. "We stress that it is an irreversible procedure and it is completely voluntary, and even after counselling and signing the informed consent form, if the woman is on the (operating) table she can still change her mind and we can't do the procedure."
PERMANENT METHOD OF FAMILY PLANNING
In the interest of harmony in the relationship, Dr. McDonald said that it is usually recommended that the woman makes her partner aware of her decision but he (the partner) is not required to sign the informed consent form.
Dr. Daley stressed that sterilisation is a permanent method of family planning and is only recommended for women who have completed their families and are in stable relationships.
"I wouldn't do the procedure on a woman under 30, at least, not unless she has had four children for the same man, because we know the habit of our young woman, they enter one relationship have a child for the man, it doesn't work out, then they move on to another man...they perhaps want to get married at age 35 and have children for that man and these are the women who will spend lots of money to reverse the procedure and then there is no guarantee or this puts them at high risk for ectopic pregnancies," he explained.
Dr. Daley said however, that although the issues of limiting family and carnal abuse were brought up in the wrong way, it has given the public the opportunity to discuss some important issues.
"Sterilisation has been a part of the ammunition in family planning services and what we really need is a proper process of education so that everybody can understand that there are alternatives," she said.
Alternatives to enforced sterilisation & virginity tests
Sterilisation (vasectomy or tubal ligation) is regarded as a permanent method of contraception and is usually recommended by health professionals for women and men in stable relationships, who have completed their families. Though many women and men may not fall into this category, there are alternative methods of contraception.
Dr. Errol Daley, consultant gynaecologist and president of the Medical Association of Jamaica recommends:
A proper process of education. All the population studies confirm that educated populations have fewer children. Contraception should be taught in school because more than 20 per cent of sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) occur among teenagers.
Proper and consistent condom use. Sexual intercourse is fraught with responsibility, if the couples don't live up to their responsibility, the woman can become pregnant or they can contract AIDS or other sexually-transmitted infections (STIs).
Abstaining from sex where young people are concerned, we want to interest them in abstaining; they should understand that this is the best way of not becoming pregnant or contracting STIs because sex is a responsible act. However, if they are having sex, they should use a condom and nowadays, the female condom is available.
If unfortunately you had sex and were exposed to pregnancy then there is the morning-after pill. Taken in the prescribed way, after sexual intercourse, this pill will offer protection against pregnancy.
If in spite of all that, there is a pregnancy, then there is the vexed question of an abortion. I don't offer that procedure myself, but I think that a woman ought to have that right.
