Pro-choice or pro-life? Make up your mind<\/p>\n
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
\"When will this country cease its ambivalent attitude towards
\nabortion, while at the same time, deaths of women go on
\nunnecessarily?\"<\/p>\n
This rhetorical question was posed by Mely from Jakarta on an
\nIndonesian Internet website www.aborsi.net recently. The question
\nwas one among dozens of others that cursed and condemned women
\nwho had abortions.<\/p>\n
Some even quoted lines from the Holy Koran and the Bible, and
\nmost denounced women who had or supported abortions to eternal
\ndamnation and hell fire. Not surprisingly, those who have this
\noutlook on abortion are mostly -- but not exclusively -- male.<\/p>\n
The abortion issue has always been a controversy, not only
\nhere in Indonesia but also in countries like the United States
\nwhere the heated debate between \"pro-life\" and \"pro-choice\" goes
\non unabated despite the fact that abortion was legalized in 1973.<\/p>\n
Pro-lifers argue that all human beings, including those yet
\nunborn, are created equal and endowed with certain inalienable
\nrights, the first of which is the right to life.<\/p>\n
Pro-choice activists allege a woman should have complete
\ncontrol over her body, therefore should be allowed the choice of
\nwhether or not to go on with her pregnancy.<\/p>\n
In clear-cut cases like rape -- where going through with the
\npregnancy could cause long-term distress to the mother and
\npotential abandonment to the child -- abortion is sometimes
\nunderstood by some of the pro-lifers.<\/p>\n
But pro-lifers say the legalization has also created a culture
\nof \"abortion on demand\", or used as another method of birth
\ncontrol.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, too, this view is shared. Many believe
\nlegalizing abortion only harbors \"sinful\" conduct such as pre-
\nmarital sex and provides an easy way out for \"sinners\".<\/p>\n
\"If you don't want to run the risk of getting pregnant, then
\ndon't do illicit sex, if you do then you have to take
\nresponsibility in the face of God. Abortion is an act cursed by
\nGod and devil,\" Andrea from Surabaya, East Java, wrote, after
\ngoing into great detail about the terrible things the aborted
\nbaby would do to the soul of a woman in the afterlife.<\/p>\n
The country's law shows no mercy on people who have abortions,
\nwith the 1992 Law on Health stipulating that \"certain medical
\nactions\" such as abortion could only be conducted in an emergency
\nsituation where the life of a mother and her baby is at stake,
\nbased on medical indications.<\/p>\n
Otherwise, abortion is considered a criminal act, and punished
\nunder the Criminal Code article 346 against the woman, article
\n347 and 348 against the person or people conducting the abortion
\nwithout and with the woman's consent respectively, and article
\n349 against a trained professional conducting the abortion.<\/p>\n
Punishment ranges from four years to 15 years in prison, and
\ncould be increased if a professional conducts the abortion.<\/p>\n
\"The problem with our law is that it doesn't define health
\nbeyond the medical terms, meaning that a woman has to be bleeding
\nto death for a doctor to be able to legally conduct an abortion,\"
\nZumrotin K.S., a member of the Women's Health Foundation (YKP)
\nadvisory board, said on the sidelines of a dialog on abortion
\nhere last Friday.<\/p>\n
Contrary to popular belief that abortions are usually done by
\nunmarried teenagers, data indicates that many more were sought by
\nhappily married couples, she said.<\/p>\n
\"In Medan for instance some 90 percent of those seeking
\nabortions are married women, about 75 percent in other areas,\"
\nZumrotin said, adding that many quoted economic reasons.<\/p>\n
\"Only a small percentage of those seeking abortions are
\nteenagers,\" Christoffel, a doctor with the Indonesian Society of
\nObstetrics and Gynecology (POGI), added without stating any
\nnumbers.<\/p>\n
The rigid law apparently does not stop people from having
\nabortions.<\/p>\n
A study by POGI, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the
\nMinistry of Health in 2000 showed that an average of 2.3 million
\nabortions are performed in the country each year.<\/p>\n
Some 600,000 abortions were done for reasons of contraceptive
\nfailure, 700,000 abortions due to poor economic conditions, and
\nanother million due to medical problems with the mother.<\/p>\n
Of the various reasons given for abortions, 47.1 percent of
\nthe 579 respondents surveyed said they have had \"enough\"
\nchildren, and at a distant 17.2 percent was the desire to
\ncontinue school.<\/p>\n
Other reasons given include for medical reasons (15.7
\npercent), work (6.8 percent), being on medication prior to the
\npregnancy (2.9 percent), and others (10 percent).<\/p>\n
Given that abortion is largely illegal, many women wanting to
\nhave an abortion end up at illegal clinics, often with
\nunconventional methods that pose a risk to their own lives.<\/p>\n
Zumrotin said laws criminalizing abortion make abortions
\nunsafe but do not eliminate them.<\/p>\n
WHO estimates that 11 percent to 17 percent of maternal deaths
\nare caused by unsafe abortion. In a country ranked high on
\nmaternal mortality, this is cause for concern.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's maternal mortality rate ranked one of the highest
\nin the Southeast Asian region at 390 maternal deaths per 100,000
\nlive births, compared to 208 in the Philippines, 44 in Thailand,
\n39 in Malaysia, and 9 in Singapore.<\/p>\n
\"This situation is really embarrassing to our nation ...
\nlegislators are increasingly aware something should be done about
\nthis,\" Ermalena, a legislator of the House of Representative's
\nCommission VII for social welfare, said in the dialog.<\/p>\n
At present, she said, intense dialog goes on both within
\nthe House and various community and religious groups about an
\namendment to the 1992 Law on Health to give more access to safe
\nabortions for women.<\/p>\n
\"We try to explain to various groups on the issue, explain in
\nterms they can relate to, and the political importance (of
\nbringing maternal mortality rates down),\" Ermalena said,
\nexplaining that as long as it can be shown statistically that
\nthere is a problem then people will understand.<\/p>\n
Organizations such as YKP are also on the forefront of the
\ncampaign to provide safe abortions to women, Zumrotin said,
\nexplaining it aims to make their views heard and heeded when the
\namendment on the Health Law takes place.<\/p>\n
The decision to terminate a pregnancy is perhaps the most
\nimportant and traumatic decision that a woman has to face in her
\nlifetime.<\/p>\n
\"I am still haunted by guilt that is very painful to me.
\nAbortion is painful and leaves an extremely deep scar,\" wrote
\nNita from Yogyakarta about her decision to undergo abortion.<\/p>\n
It is therefore very important for women to receive counseling
\nabout her choices, Zumrotin said. A survey conducted by YKP in
\n2000 showed that some 85 percent of 600 people surveyed agreed
\nthat the decision to terminate a pregnancy had to be made with
\nadequate counseling.<\/p>\n
\"When the concept of counseling was first introduced, many
\nwere suspicious it would encourage women to have abortions. But
\nwhat we're doing is providing comprehensive information to the
\nwoman about her choices, so she can decide what's best for her,\"
\nZumrotin said, stressing that it was important for the woman --
\nnot a third person or even the State -- to make that choice.<\/p>\n
Considering that most women who have abortions just made the
\nmost difficult decision of their life -- that no one tries to get
\npregnant just so they can terminate it, they certainly do not
\nneed others telling them it is a murder.<\/p>\n
In a sea of condemnation, Nale from Jakarta says wisely:
\n\"I'm not someone who agrees with abortion, but that doesn't mean
\nI have to force others to think like me. I know that when a woman
\ndecides on abortion, it is a very difficult decision. No one
\nchooses abortion if possible. Must we close our eyes then,
\nwithout doing something, while thousands of women die every year
\nfrom unsafe abortions?\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pro-choice-or-pro-life-make-up-your-mind-1447893297",
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