Abortion: A legal issue we cannot ignore<\/p>\n
By Rebeka Harsono<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): The report that two private clinics in
\nJakarta have carried out more than 100 abortions has created a
\npublic outcry.<\/p>\n
Police are collecting more information from employees of the
\nclinics which carried out the abortions and are looking for the
\nwomen who received the procedure.<\/p>\n
Abortions can be classified as having a medical or nonmedical
\nmotive. An abortion on medical grounds would probably not incur
\npunishment because it is legal according to the 1992 Health Law
\nNo. 23.<\/p>\n
However, if an abortion is carried out for nonmedical reasons,
\nthe procedure is illegal and considered amoral. In many of these
\ninstances, women who have become pregnant out of wedlock seek
\nabortions to avoid social stigmatization. In other cases, married
\nwomen terminate their pregnancy if the child is simply unwanted.<\/p>\n
Abortions sought for both medical and nonmedical reasons have
\noften ended in death for the mother. LIPI reported in 1994 that
\nduring the period from 1980 to 1988, abortions contributed to the
\nhigh mortality rate of mothers. Out of every 100,000 pregnancies,
\n450 women died from childbearing or abortion procedures.<\/p>\n
This is cause for great concern because the number is close to
\nhalf of the deaths among mothers nationwide.<\/p>\n
The recent controversial abortion cases may create the
\nmomentum needed to legalize abortions for nonmedical reasons.<\/p>\n
The motives behind abortions cannot always be considered
\namoral. But whether for amoral reasons or not, abortions take
\nplace illegally in Indonesia and the health risks for the women
\nare high.<\/p>\n
Research by Made Heny Urmila Dewi on 75 health officers in
\nBali revealed that 78 percent of the respondents recommended the
\nlegalization of abortion in certain cases to ensure the
\navailability of safe medical services and to provide legal
\nprotection to medical officers.<\/p>\n
These medical officers' opinions should be seriously
\nconsidered because they believed that abortion was wrong but have
\nreconsidered its legality. They found it alarming that many
\nwomen, faced with the fact that professional medical clinics
\ncould not legally perform the procedure, took the risk of having
\nan unprofessional practitioner carry out their abortion.<\/p>\n
With a majority being Hindu, 59 percent of the respondents
\nclaimed they believed abortion for nonmedical reasons was a sin.
\nThe remaining 41 percent thought abortion was justified in
\nspecial socio-economic circumstances such as in cases of poor
\nmarried couples with too many children, unfaithfulness and family
\nplanning.<\/p>\n
But, of the 44 persons who disagreed to such abortions, 72
\npercent did not think they would refuse to recommend an abortion
\nand only 28 percent would advise to maintain the pregnancy.<\/p>\n
The group's doctors had an even more flexible attitude: 58
\npercent said they would be willing to carry out an abortion for
\nnonmedical reasons. Of the paramedics and midwives, only 29
\npercent said they would perform abortions. But they said
\nabortions should be carried out only if the pregnancy was not
\nmore than four weeks old and they could perform a menstrual
\nregulation, an abortion using a sucking method. If the pregnancy
\nwas more than four weeks old, they would refer the patient to a
\nmore sophisticated hospital in the Balinese capital of Denpasar.<\/p>\n
Other medical officials tended to assume an ambiguous
\nattitude. They would advise a pregnant woman give birth to the
\nbaby and get married if the pregnancy occurred outside of
\nwedlock. But in cases where the woman demanded an abortion, the
\nmedical officers indicated they would perform the abortion or
\nprovide a referral.<\/p>\n
Paramedics and midwives emphasized that abortions should be
\nviewed in a case by case basis. Economic reasons due to a
\nfamily's financial income or cases in which the man did not wish
\nto take responsibility for the child were seen as difficult
\ncircumstances for a pregnant woman to face.<\/p>\n
Many doctors admitted that they disagreed in principle to
\nabortions but their opinions changed after many women
\nexperiencing crises came to them to ask for help. For example,
\none doctor could not turn away a woman who had tried to abort her
\npregnancy by using a cassava stalk resulting in heavy bleeding
\nand a life-threatening situation.<\/p>\n
F.A. Moeloek, a reputed gynecologist, said that the demand for
\nabortions for social, economic and psychological reasons was
\nincreasing. This was due to better educational opportunities for
\nwomen -- bringing about changes in their roles in society -- and
\nthe less restrictive socialization among young persons. These
\nhave been factors influencing women to want less children.<\/p>\n
Failures in birth control and rape cases are also instances in
\nwhich legal abortions can be carried out according to family
\nplanning counselors. The national family planning coordinating
\nboard (BKKBN) goes as far as paying for abortion costs for
\nfamilies who fail in birth control.<\/p>\n
Traditional midwives and family planning counselors think that
\nthe fear of social humiliation and ostracism often pushes the
\nparents of a daughter who is pregnant out of wedlock to pay any
\nsum for an abortion.<\/p>\n
Even families who strongly hold to religious values may resort
\nto abortion if faced with the disaster of a daughter's pregnancy
\noutside of wedlock.<\/p>\n
It is clear that abortion is a reality in our society and it
\ncannot be denied that it takes place as a result of poverty,
\ndisdain for women, saving a family's reputation and family
\nplanning.<\/p>\n
Therefore it would not be wise if we stuck inflexibly by moral
\nreasons to keep abortion illegal while many women in crisis
\ncontinue to die. Abortions are the cause for nearly half of
\nmothers' deaths nationwide. Death caused by unsafe medical
\nservices need not happen if abortions for nonmedical reasons were
\nlegalized.<\/p>\n
The September 1992 health law is ambiguous concerning the
\nlegality of abortions in certain cases. According to a report by
\nLIPI, the term \"abortion\" is never used in the law. It is instead
\nreferred to as \"a certain medical act\". This shows how sensitive
\nthe abortion issue is in discussions within the House of
\nRepresentatives.<\/p>\n
Article 15 of Law No. 23\/1992 stipulates that in an emergency,
\na \"certain medical act\" could be performed during efforts to save
\nthe life of a pregnant woman and\/or her fetus. However, this
\n\"medical act\" must be justified medically by a team of health
\nexperts, be performed by authorized professional personnel, and
\nhave the mother's or family's approval.<\/p>\n
The law does not explicitly mention abortion as a legal
\nmethod, so it does not differ much from the previous Law No.
\n9\/1960.<\/p>\n
The phrase \"a certain medical act\" indicates the possibility
\nof a method other than abortion. Although the health minister
\nrefers to Law No. 23\/1992 as the legal basis for medically needed
\nabortions, the medical community is worried over the law's
\nambiguity.<\/p>\n
Medical officers who have been performing the menstrual
\nregulation method since the 1980s for medically called-for
\nabortions are still demanding a unambiguous law that can protect
\nthem.<\/p>\n
This is urgent. Otherwise, there will be an increasing number
\nof clinics that take advantage of women facing crises by
\ndemanding exorbitant fees.<\/p>\n
It cannot be denied that such a law would become the last
\nstronghold to stem moral degradation -- hence the importance of
\nthe law. Custom and social values need to be emphasized, but
\npeople faced with desperate circumstances tend to commit the act
\nall the same.<\/p>\n
The function of the law would not seek to control Indonesians'
\nsexual behavior. Legally married couples have the right to decide
\non the number of their children. But when a man does not want to
\ntake responsibility for his actions, a girl or a woman, whether
\nshe likes it or not, often feels forced to seek an abortion.<\/p>\n
Deviant behavior and immoral acts happen all the time, whether
\nthere is an abortion law or not. Therefore, the legalization of
\nabortion is not the only factor that can increase the number of
\nabortions or inversely prevent them. The facts show the contrary.<\/p>\n
The number of abortions are influenced by many factors. Are we
\nreally doing all we can to prevent these causes? For example, is
\nour society seriously trying to curb the circulation of
\npornographic films, and the showing of big screen and television
\nfilms which make irresponsible sex look socially acceptable?<\/p>\n
Modern society has turned women into sex objects. We must
\nchange how our society views sex through more responsible social
\nmodels and methods of sex education.<\/p>\n
We need to hold a dialog on sexuality between men and women in
\nan effort to change the perception that women are subordinate.<\/p>\n
An agreement to legalize abortion would not be simple. It is
\nnot easy to come to a universal conclusion on the concept of a
\nbaby's life -- especially on the priority for the safety of the
\nmother or the child, or even the acceptable methods to be used.<\/p>\n
However, the essence and the objective of such a law are the
\nsame -- it would be a reply to the community's problems. The law
\nshould not make normative stipulations only. The morality of the
\nlaw would reside in the extent to which it is in accordance with
\nthe realities of the community's problems.<\/p>\n
A problem needs to be prevented but a problem also needs to be
\nsettled. That would be the function of the law.<\/p>\n
The writer is a graduate of Gadjah Mada University's School of
\nPolitical Science, Yogyakarta. She is an observer of women's
\nissues.<\/p>",
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