Abortion clinic beyond reach of law
Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post/Surabaya
After attending to a client Agung (not his real name), an employee at the office of an abortion clinic in Dukuh Kupang, Surabaya, begins checking off names on the list of reporters who regularly come to pick up hush money.
The list contains about 100 names of journalists, many coming from dubious media companies, who regularly extort money from the clinic in return for not writing stories about its existence.
"They often come to take their share. Not just anonymous reporters, but several well-known ones from the local media firms in Surabaya," Agung said.
A man in the parking lot, who refused to be named, said police men also made regular visits to the office.
It is located about two kilometers from Surabaya's infamous prostitute village of Dolly, which said to be the biggest red- light district in Southeast Asia. Running since 1996 when it was last shut down by police, the operation has survived the leadership of former East Java Police chiefs Insp. Gen. Sutanto from 2001 to 2002 (now National Police chief) and Insp. Gen. Firman Gani from 2002 to 2004 (now Jakarta Police chief).
Police under the present leadership of Insp. Gen. Edi Sunarno, meanwhile, claimed they were unaware such an abortion clinic existed.
A few hours later, a black van stops in front of the office and several women waiting there get in. Most are young, in their late teens or early 20s, and some are prostitutes while others are students.
The van heads toward the residence of "Dr. Stephen" in one of the upscale neighborhoods in Surabaya; the clinic where the abortions are carried out.
Security is tight at the residence, with guards outside the office tightlipped about the house's operations.
A client, "Mia", said that before performing an abortion, the doctor would explain his reasons for carrying out the abortion -- that it was better to abort an unwanted child than bring it into the world, especially if there was not enough money to feed it. He also assured patients abortions were not against most major religions if the baby was less than three months old.
A student at one of the private universities in Surabaya, said Mia said it was the second time she had terminated a pregnancy, the result of a sexually active relationship with her boyfriend who was also a student.
"It's better to resort to abortion because we cannot afford to bring a child up at the moment. Besides, it would be a great shame to the family if I fell pregnant before I got married."
The costs of an abortion range from Rp 1 million to Rp 2 million depending on the age of the fetus. Dr. Stephen performs about 20 abortions a day.
A procedure with Stephen takes about three hours. After regaining consciousness from the general anesthetic a patient is sent back to the office and told to return to the clinic for checkups each month.
While criticized by religious leaders, the practice of abortion is supported by many non-government organizations involved in family planning.
"Abortion is the mother's right," said Djunaidi Saripurnawan, the research and development coordinator of Plan Indonesia.