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.