Families Bill Sent Back for Review After 10-Hour House Committee Meeting

After a 10-hour session last week Monday, the Health and Human Development Committee, chaired by Gilroy Usher, decided to return the much-anticipated Families Bill 2025 to the Ministry of Human Development for further review. The committee met to examine the bill, which was first presented to the House a week earlier by the Minister of Human Development, Thea Garcia Ramirez. In a Facebook post following the meeting, Usher emphasized the bill’s significance, noting, “Because of the importance of the family in raising children and building the best possible country, the bill had input from a number of churches, foster homes, and concerned individuals.” On May 12, 2025, Ramirez raised it in the House of Representatives. 

Despite the government’s efforts to involve various stakeholders, the bill faced strong by the opposition.  The Ministry of Human Development is now expected to revisit and revise the bill, considering the concerns raised, before it can proceed further through the legislative process.