Abortion debate
Abortion debate
As people in the American state of Iowa rejoice at the
miraculous birth of septuplet babies, here in Jakarta, we wake up
to the horror discovery of fetuses and stillborn babies ditched
in waste dumps. The two plastic bags found in different places in
Tanjung Priok district contained not seven fetuses and stillborn
babies as first reported on Friday, or 11 on Saturday. At the
last count, the body parts belonged to more than 20 babies, born
and otherwise.
This is no unexceptional discovery of mutilated babies that
Jakarta has become accustomed to this year. Previous discoveries
were isolated incidents concerning mostly newborn babies, the
result of infanticide. The latest discovery, while different,
was equally horrifying nevertheless. The body count, and the way
that the flesh was expertly cut, suggests they all come from one
place, a back-street abortion clinic.
Ironically, while the gruesome discovery shocked people, very
few of them were surprised at the suggestion that the parts came
from an abortion clinic. This is in spite of a 1993 law which
forbids abortion, unless in exceptional cases, such as when the
life or health of the mother is in danger. People reacted
strongly to the discovery, but not to the fact that abortion has
been taking place regularly, or even less, to the fact that the
law has been belittled.
Underlying such indifference is the public's general attitude
toward abortion: it's legally and morally wrong, but socially
acceptable. This is the kind of tolerance that borders on
hypocrisy, which this nation seems to have plenty of.
Our society is not immune from the excesses of modern
lifestyles, whether we like it or not. Premarital and
extramarital sex are now common in Indonesia, specially in urban
areas. Unwanted pregnancy and abortion are some of the
consequences of an increasingly permissive society. Abortion,
therefore, while widely abhorred by society, has become
acceptable under various pretexts, the most popular of which are
financial difficulties or unwillingness or inability to become a
single parent. Some parents have encouraged their unmarried
daughters to have an abortion because they cannot take the wrath
of society or to spare them from shame. So much for modern
living; while many willingly adopt it, they refuse to accept the
consequences.
So, in spite of the ban, there is a strong demand for
abortion, and that means there will always be people willing to
supply the service. Many health clinics are known to offer
abortion on the side in the most discreet manner, mostly likely
performed anywhere but the clinic. Some doctors, in spite of
their Hippocratic oath, are also known to offer abortion at the
right price. And then there are midwives offering the same
service.
All these abortion practices in Indonesia have one thing in
common: they are illegal, and therefore totally unsupervised.
There are no guarantees about the safety of the women. Whether
performed at luxury clinics by the most experienced doctors or in
small huts by amateur midwives, they are back street abortions.
The law enforcement agencies, and the medical association,
following society's attitude, have turned a blind eye to these
abortion practices. Criminal law is actually already tough enough
in terms of punishment: up to four years imprisonment for the
woman; up to 12 years for doctors or anyone performing abortion;
and up to 15 years if the woman dies. Strict enforcement of the
law, however, won't solve the problem.
Given society's increasing tolerance toward abortion and the
ineffectiveness of the legislation, it is perhaps time to review
the abortion law, or at the very least, initiate a national
debate on the issue. Abortion is both a morally and emotionally
charged issue, but this is all the more reason for the nation to
confront the problem once and for all, rather than sidestepping
it and sustaining the hypocrisy it has had all this time.