No Replacement Named for Jamaica Beauty Queen Who Refused Abortion 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 16, 2007
Kingston, Jamaica (LifeNews.com) — The local organization that held the Miss Jamaica beauty pageant has not named a replacement for Sara Lawrence, the Miss Jamaica World 2006 who said she was pregnant and would not have an abortion. Lawrence relinquished her crown voluntarily last month.
After saying she would step down, the head of the Miss World beauty pageant said it would not strip the Miss World Caribbean title from the beauty queen.
Julia Morley, the founder and chairman of Miss World Limited, also wrote to the organizers of the local Jamaica pageant and asked them to allow Lawrence to keep her crown.
Miss Jamaica World franchise holder, Mickey Haughton-James, said he would allow Lawrence to keep her titles.
With Lawrence stepping down herself, the runner up would normally replace the winner for the remainder of her term. But, with less than four months left until the next contest, there may be no replacement. Miss Jamaica World 2007 will be held in August.
"There are no new developments. I haven’t had any updates or been to any meetings. I don’t know any more than you do at this point," Lawrence told the Sunday Observer.
Lawrence won the Miss World Caribbean title as the top Miss World contestant from the region.
She became the subject of international attention when she became he latest beauty pageant queen to relinquish her crown after she refused to have an abortion.
In January, the Miss USA pageant came under fire for forcing the winner of the New Jersey state contest to resign her crown because she’s pregnant and wouldn’t abort.
The 22 year-old Lawrence said she would relinquish her position "having taken a deeply personal decision to face up to my responsibilities as one who expects to become a mother later this year."
"I believe that it is my moral obligation to do what I believe to be ethically correct and will follow what I believe to be right" Lawrence added.
Lawrence said her boyfriend supports her decision to keep the baby and not have an abortion. Though abortion advocates frequently say otherwise, she said she would have no problem continuing to pursue a career and raising her child at the same time.
"I will continue pursuing a career in medicine after the birth of my baby," Lawrence, who is now 17 weeks pregnant, said.
