CASTRIES, St. Lucia, November 27, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Only one week after St. Lucia Prime Minister Kenny Anthony cancelled parliamentary debate on his plan to partially liberalize the Caribbean island’s abortion law, the legislature approved the new bill allowing abortion. The new law allows abortion in cases of rape, incest or if needed to protect the “health” of the mother.
Prior debate of the bill was cancelled by Anthony following the receipt of a 9,000-signature petition presented by Archbishop Kelvin Felix demanding that the legislation be shelved. St. Lucia is a country of 160,000 people, 90 percent of whom are Catholic.
The legislation was passed 13-1, the only dissident being pro-life cabinet Minister Sara Flood Beaubrun, who declared “f we pass this measure here today, we are as guilty as they are,” referring to abortion-supporting colleagues as “child killers.” Prior to the bill being passed, Beaubrun joined a large demonstration of over 2500 against the proposed bill.
Read previous coverage from LifeSiteNews on this issue here: www.lifesite.net/ldn/2003/oct/03102905.html www.lifesite.net/ldn/2003/nov/03112008.html
To read the AP coverage: https://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=553&ncid=751&e=7&u=/ap/20031126/ap_wo_en_he/cb_gen_st_lucia_abortion