Determined to awaken the conscience of all Jamaicans to the violent act of abortion, at least 500 placard-bearing young people from all across Jamaica participated in a peaceful - though not at all quiet march - on Saturday March 8 in Jamaica’s capital city, Kingston.

The march was organized by Youth for Life Jamaica, an interdenominational Christian youth group that has arisen in response to the recommendations of an Abortion Policy Review Advisory Group for the legalisation of abortion in Jamaica.

No one could ignore the initiative as young men and women uniformly clad in white tee-shirts chanted tirelessly over two miles on Kingston’s busiest streets. Among their chants were “Abortion is wrong” and “Save our children”.

Participants in Youth for Life march through Kingston

Though abortion was the main focus of the march, great emphasis was also placed on a number of issues which the youth believe are inextricably linked to the reality of abortion in Jamaica.

The group’s placards addressed some of these issues: the sanctity of human life, the rights of the unborn child, care and options for pregnant women, the need for greater protection of young girls and the need for responsible fathers.

Youth for Life leaders spoke at the event, reinforcing their position on abortion, and explaining plainly their mandate for taking public action. The group then took to the streets, before finally ending at a high school where they had a gospel concert.

“Our target is firstly the people and then the government of Jamaica,” said group spokesperson Andrew Wildes. “Things like the awfully lewd lyrics coming out of the dancehall, and the increasingly irresponsible behavior of Jamaican men, clearly tell us that we as a society need urgently to change if we are serious about opposing the evil of abortion. That is what our march is trying to communicate,” he said. 

Anna-Lisa Walcott, another Youth for Life leader, made it clear to the masses gathered that abortion is nothing short of “a crime against humanity.”

Also in attendance at the march were members of Jamaica’s Coalition for the Defense of Human Life, the umbrella group representing the Church in the fight against the legalisation of abortion in Jamaica.