Education vital to prevent abortions
The recent case of dumped fetuses in Jakarta has unveiled more shocking facts. It is said that hundreds of fetuses are being dumped in the capital everyday. Medical doctor Sugiat A. Sumadi, chief of the Council for Health Development of the large Moslem organization Muhammadiyah discusses the problems related to abortion.
Question: Chairman of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) Azrul Azwar has suggested that abortion be legalized. Do you think that legalizing it will help?
Answer: No. Whether abortion is legalized or not, the result will be the same -- the demand for abortion will remain high.
Q: Why?
A: The demand for abortion has actually been high since the 1970s when the government promoted the so-called "menstruation regulation", a method of early abortion, with the aim of reducing the country's maternal mortality rate. There was also a commitment that prosecution offices would not bring such cases to court.
The demand for abortion is now still on an upward trend because the number of unwanted pregnancies is increasing, while facilities are available to handle abortion.
That is why the number of abortion practices is very high, far higher than that ever reported by the press, particularly in big cities.
Q: Where does the high demand come from?
A: About half comes from women involved in extramarital relations and the other half from married couples who, for health and economic considerations, do not want to have more children while they do not want to join the government-sponsored family planning program.
Q: So, it is not necessary to revise the Criminal Act, which forbids abortion, even though the law on health allows abortion to be conducted for health reasons?
A: No. It will be a shame for us to revise it just because of the heated discussions while international society continues opposing it. U.S. President Bill Clinton himself became more popular because he opposed abortion.
Furthermore, the majority of the Indonesian population are Moslems who believe that abortion is haram (forbidden).
Q: If the majority of Indonesians are Moslems who believe that abortion is haram, why are there also Moslem women who have their pregnancies terminated?
A: In Islam, there are different points of view on abortion. In 1985, the National Agency for Family Planning Coordination asked Muhammadiyah to send teams to other Moslem countries in the Middle East where abortion was allowed at certain stages of pregnancy.
I led one of these teams a few years ago, visiting Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Turkey. Moslems in those countries are followers of Imam Maliki's school of syariah (Islamic law), which believes that life begins when the heart of the fetus starts beating -- at 100 to 120 days.
Most Indonesian Moslems are followers of Imam Syafi'i's school, which believes that life begins when sperm penetrates an ovum -- a belief which is also shared by Christians. The Indonesian doctors' oath, therefore, includes honor to life which begins with the penetration of sperm and ovum.
Because there is a school which allows abortion before the heart of the fetus starts beating, many Indonesian women, particularly those following Imam Maliki's school, do not feel guilty when they have their pregnancies terminated. Such practice is, therefore, not regarded as murder.
But Islamic teachings of whatever school allow abortion which is conducted for health reasons.
Q: Then what are the benefits of legalizing abortion if the IDI chairman suggested it?
A: There will be some benefits from the health point of view. When abortion is regarded as legal, society will get better information on abortion practices, medical doctors can carry out abortion practices in accordance with regulations, bleeding and mortality among women can be reduced and the number of unwanted children, who usually face psychological and social troubles during their lives, will be reduced.
But the legalization of abortion should meet at least three conditions -- the age of pregnancy must not have reached one month, the abortion practice must be conducted by competent personnel and the motivation for abortion must be clearly acceptable and recognized by no less than three experts of different kinds of competence.
Q: What is the best way to reduce the practice of abortion?
A: Sex education for society. Many young women who do not want to have children for some reason do not know the signs of pregnancy. When they are sure that they are pregnant, it is too late and yet they go ahead with their plans to abort.
Some uneducated women, realizing that they have an unwanted fetus in their wombs, try to abort them by taking traditional medicines. When such medicines prove ineffective, they go to doctors for an abortion even though they have to face high risks.
With education, women and their partners will have better knowledge that there are many ways to have sexual relations without producing children. (riz)
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