Dear Editor:
On October 21, 2025, we had our day in court. We presented our case challenging the constitutionality of the abortion law. In Antigua and Barbuda, we finally had our day on December 1st.
In both High Courts, there was no drama. Just orderly submissions from both sets of attorneys. And now we wait.
We are deeply grateful for the services of our pro bono attorneys, Rishi Daas and Sasha Sukhram, and for Anika Gray, Dawn Yearwood, and Shanice Henry, who teamed with them. Without their commitment to fairness and justice, we would never have reached this point.
From the day we first wrote to the Attorney General, March 17, 2022, to the trial date in October amounts to 43 months. Three and a half years.
We filed our claim with the High Court on April 26, 2024. Then the Government engaged in one delay after another, always needing more time to prepare. We survived that frustration.
The matter now rests with the High Court. We are at the Court’s pleasure. That could be a long time.
But while we wait for the Court’s decision, we cannot be passive. Indeed, this is a crucial time for preparatory steps in order to be effective if/when the law is declared unconstitutional.
Our central goal is to shift from criminalization and punishment to legalization and education. The legal dimension is now in the Court’s hands: The legal team has delivered. The shift to an emphasis on education requires action from advocates.
We must now strive to strengthen Health and Family Life Education (HFLE). No country in the Caribbean has met the minimum international standards for HFLE and Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE). https://caribbean.unfpa.org/en/publications/formative-assessment-comprehensive-sexuality-education-within-health-and-family-life We must develop material and work with teachers to achieve radical improvement.
We must work with parents, encouraging them to speak with their children about sex. Only about 5-10% of Caribbean parents do so. And typically, that is a one-off conversation: Tick the box and move on. This burden rests almost entirely on mothers. This avoidance is harmful. We confuse innocence with ignorance at our children’s peril. Ignorance leaves them vulnerable to exploitation.
We must work with religious leaders to help them strengthen their moral message, end their stigmatization of sex, and instead speak of the positive role of sex in all our lives.
There are about 70 schools in our state, and the major denominations alone account for at least 96 churches. The total number of faith-based houses of worship is far greater. Imagine the transformation we could achieve if we took HFLE seriously.
Our goal is to move from the old, reactive A&E, Accident and Emergency, to a new, preventive A&E of Access and Education. All the data show that sex education delays sexual debut. Our fear that it encourages sexual activity is unfounded.
If any change in the law is to have meaning, we must roll up our sleeves and get to work. Now.
Sincerely
ASPIRE
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