Doctors take blood from seven women for DNA testing

JAKARTA (JP): Forensic experts from Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital have taken blood samples to test the DNA of at least seven women believed to have undergone abortions.

Forensic expert Djaja Surya Atmaja said the first blood sample was taken on Friday when city police sent the first woman along. The other six women came Monday.

Djaja declined to identify the women, who he said are in their 20s and 30s.

"Some of them are married and some of them are single," he said, adding that the test results would be ready early next month.

The women were required to submit blood for DNA testing after their names were discovered in admission books seized from two clinics -- Fajar Pengharapan Clinic and Amalia Clinic -- in Central Jakarta.

The clinics have been closed temporarily since police arrested the owners, doctors and staff for allegedly conducting abortions.

Djaja said all the women were accompanied by plainclothes officers from National Police Headquarter and the Jakarta Military Police.

The latter took part in the investigation after one of the doctors allegedly involved in abortion practices was identified as a military doctor. The other doctor had already been honorably discharged from the Army.

The women's blood samples will be used to match those taken from the dead fetuses and newborns, Djaja said.

Forensic doctors took blood from five of the 11 tiny bodies found in Warakas, North Jakarta on Nov. 21 and the DNA tests could result in further criminal charges.

But Djaja stressed that the abortion investigation would not rely solely on the results of the DNA tests.

"If (the tested women) are the real mothers, for the sake of justice, they can testify in court about the alleged roles of the doctors and the clinic owners.

"But if police also want to send the women to trial, then (the police) have to find out why these women aborted their fetuses."

Some of the married women, whose blood will tested, may have decided to abort their fetuses because they were not ready to have a child, he said.

Djaja predicted that it would be a long time before police finalized the case, particularly if they planned to prosecute the women.

He was unsure whether police wanted to test more women for the case but he expressed his concern about the high cost of testing.

"Who will pay for the tests later. It's easy work but it's not cheap."

DNA tests cost Rp 800,000 (US$160) before the currency crisis. (04)