PAULA GORDON, Staff Reporter

In light of the killing of three pregnant women in separate incidents in the last few days, many persons now believe Jamaicans have lost respect for expectant mothers.

When THE STAR sought to get the views of the public on the matter several of them told our news team that the incidents were alarming.

Andrew Grahamsaid, "First it was throat slashing and now dem killing pregnant women, left, right and centre. How can you shoot a woman who is eight and nine months pregnant in fact how can you shoot a woman with a belly in front of her."

Also Cheryl Scott said, "As a citizen of this country I have to ask who is next. They are killing every and anything they catch, man, women, dog and now baby and pregnant women."

Last weekend it was reported that Kay-Ann Lamont, 27, was shot twice in her head during an altercation with a policeman, after he attempted to arrest her for using indecent language. She was eight months pregnant.

Just days later it was also reported that four persons, including two pregnant women, were gunned down in St James. The women are 19-year-old Shantel Davis and Ashmara Plummer, 37. The police say Davis was due to give birth later this month while Plummer was two months pregnant.

In a recent interview, Clinical Psychologist Doneisha Burke told THE STAR that she would not necessarily identify the three killings as a trend.

She said it's not a matter of losing respect for expecting moms but that there has been a degeneration of values.

"There has been a break down of values and respect for people in general. It's very unfortunate that kids and pregnant women have now become a part of the statistic," she said.

Nevertheless she noted that the disturbing killings are definitely something to be concerned about.

"We have to think about the unborn kids who never got a chance to live," she said, adding that from a psychological standpoint one of the things that must be taken into consideration is the mental state of the persons responsible for the killings.

She believes that if crime is to be tackled in Jamaica a multi-level approach will have to be taken and all stakeholders such as the security forces, the government and the citizens must take part.