The draft bill Termination of Pregnancy Act 2007 now before Parliament, permits late-term abortion for a foetal abnormality which bears a "substantial risk of serious disability".

Two considerations arise from this implicit assertion that the life of such a child would be unworthy of the protection of the State. First, if our legislators enact this bill, then it would be ethically incoherent to criminalise infanticide of a new-born baby with a similar degree of disability.

Second, an unborn child without legs who would be later abandoned by his or her mother would surely "qualify" for abortion under this law - with free health care possibly at taxpayers' expense.

- Dr Doreen Brady-West, drbradywest@hotmail.com, Kingston 6

JCF needs crisis Negotiators

I would like to know if the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) has crisis negotiators to negotiate with gunmen who have barricaded themselves.

I am not naïve; I know that there are situations when deadly force is necessary and warranted. However, I have not heard of a single case in which a gunman is not killed after shooting at the police then barricading himself. If a negotiator could assure a suspect that he would receive a fair trial, most suspects would surrender.

It would appear that once a firearm is involved in a crime, it is the unwritten rule of the JCF and the mentality of most Jamaican police personnel that the accused must be killed. If the police change the way they deal with suspects with firearms, they may save not just a suspect's life, but maybe their own. The most dangerous man is a man whose only recourse is to fight.

- Anthony Levy, philtay@verizon.net, Laurel, Maryland

Disappointed

I am very disappointed that the Calabash festival has been cancelled for this year. If I had extra cash in my pocket, it would be forthcoming. What is the possibility that we could get 100 generous people to contribute $500 so that the festival could occur this year?

With literary stars like Junot Diaz and Nordine Gordimer scheduled to be in attendance, it is truly a shame that we cannot rally our literary-loving brothers and sisters to support this wonderful happening.

- Trudie Webster, webster@indra.com, Duncans, Trelawny