Women's Affairs director lashes out at abortion ban bill

A local pro-choice supporter says she’s extremely disappointed by the introduction of a bill to ban abortions after the detection of an unborn child's heartbeat on Guam. Bureau of Women’s Affairs Director Jayne Flores calls it a "ridiculous piece of legislation that is only going to divide the community."

"Women have a right to confidential, affordable and unrestricted access to the full range of reproductive healthcare options that are available in 2022, including the option to terminate a pregnancy," she told KUAM News. "A woman has a right to decide what’s best for her own health and that includes the right to control what happens within her own body. It’s a decision she should make in consultation with whoever she trusts and be of support to her, not something that the government or anyone else should decide."

She’s aware of a private group of citizens that may be organizing against the measure, and Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero has long said publicly she is pro-choice. 

Flores also questions the timing of the measure which has bipartisan sponsorship.

"This type of legislation always rears its ugly head during a gubernatorial election year and one of the sponsors is running for lieutenant governor and it’s an attempt to divide our community," she said. "It's also moot legislation because we don’t currently have any doctors on Guam who perform abortions or any doctors on Guam that provide medically induced abortions that I’m aware of."

The co-sponsors include Democrat policymaker Amanda Shelton, and Republicans Tony Ada, Chris Duenas and Frank Blas, Jr. Flores calls out what she says are a number of flaws to the bill.

"Yesterday, Gov. Leon Guerrero and Lt. Gov. Tenorio signed a proclamation declaring April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month," Flores pointed out. "Ironically, this Guam heartbeat bill makes no exception for victims of rape or incest. It negates every single piece of legislation that the legislature has passed that purports to be in support of sexual assault victims."

"The sponsors are saying to victims of sexual assault – 'We don’t really care what happened to you, we care only about the unborn child of your rapist,'" she said.