Comments on abortion
Comments on abortion
From Kompas
Government officials' comments on abortion are confusing and
marked by mutual reproach. The police complain that the
Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) should have informed them
about doctors and clinics practicing abortion.
An IDI member stated that he did not agree with abortion but
he had not reported any cases to the police. Somebody else said
that the act of terminating pregnancy was in violation of the
medical code of ethics.
The complaint voiced by the police sounds naive because
doctors and clinics practicing abortion are a public secret. The
media often add names to their reports on such practices. Follow-
up measures were never heard of.
If an IDI member thinks abortion practices are criminal, he or
she should report them to the police. I knew about them but did
not report them either because I do not think all abortions are
criminal. There are cases requiring abortion. It would be better
to have it done by a professional for the mother's safety.
In the Indonesian medical code of ethics no mention is made of
prohibition on abortion. Moreover in the medical profession
abortion is recognized if it is done to save the mother's life.
It is as if all officials like to be seen as saviors of the
nation's morals by condemning abortion, while until now there has
been no uniform criterion on abortion, neither legally nor
medically.
The late Mother Teresa was consistent as a Catholic and did
not approve of abortion but she did not condemn it. If there was
a woman with an unwanted pregnancy, she would say: "Come to me. I
will take care of her until the baby is born. And I will also
care for the baby if the parents do not want it." Mother Teresa
approached the abortion problem with love, not with condemnation.
In Malaysia where the state religion is Islam, a 1986 law says
that an abortion for the mother's health, as a result of rape or
incest, can be carried out in a clinic and with a qualified
doctor. This is to reduce the maternal mortality rate and the
risk of severe physical impairment due to the illegal practice of
abortion. The World Health Organization defines health as being
not only physical but mental and social as well.
In 1994 Indonesia signed the Cairo Declaration that says: "...
determined to eradicate illegal practices of abortion endangering
women's health."
What else have we done except condemning? Is there somebody
wishing to become a Mother Teresa? Or is there courage to be like
Malaysia?
Let us stop the mass hypocrisy in this country.
KARTONO MOHAMAD
Jakarta