Experts, activist at loggerheads over abortion
JAKARTA (JP): A doctor, a lawyer, a religious activist and a police officer have entered the public debate on the moral and legal aspects of abortion.
The Jakarta Post contacted them yesterday following the discovery last week of 11 babies and fetuses which were dumped at a garbage site on Jl. Warakas in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.
The chairman of the Indonesian Doctors' Association, Azrul Azwar, admitted that doctors were aware their colleagues conducted abortions.
He said there was an unspoken agreement among doctors not to report the activities of others unless their actions had adversely affected a patient.
"We will have to dismiss any doctor found guilty of conducting abortions for reasons other than medical or health purposes.
"We all know that abortion is prohibited by the law. But, the reality is, demand for it is getting higher."
Articles 346 and 347 of the Criminal Code strictly prohibit abortion, but Article 15 of the 1992 Health Law No. 23 allows abortion for medical and health reasons.
If the ban on abortion is enforced, more people sneak into clinics to abort their babies because their options have been limited, he said.
"This means treatment becomes more expensive too. People who can't afford it will go to inexperienced medics or midwives and face a much higher risk of infection and even death."
Azrul suggested that legalizing abortion under certain circumstances might be a solution to the problem.
"Banning abortions will never stop people from doing it," he said. "Do you think our society is ready to discuss the possibility of legalizing abortion on the condition that there can be agreement on when a fetus is actually alive?"
He said it was up to the public to identify the problems and needs so they can decide what is best for them.
Lawyer Nursjahbani Katjasungkana said that legalizing abortion was a secondary consideration.
"The exact time when a fetus is considered alive is central to the abortion controversy," she said.
"That's why government officials, doctors and religious leaders should first reach some kind of consensus on when a human fetus starts being alive -- whether it's less than three months or 100 days...
"If they can reach an agreement on it, then we'll talk about making a law to legalize the practice."
The chairman of the Indonesian Committee for World Moslem Solidarity, Ahmad Sumargono, lambasted the abortion practice as an uncivilized act.
"It's no secret that such practices are carried out by midwives or clinics staffed by doctors and nurses in certain parts of the city. They are immoral. They do not appreciate that fetuses are human beings.
"The aborted babies were obviously shunned by their parents. This is pathetic. Can you imagine how our society can condone that? The moral crisis is out of control."
Ahmad blamed the mushrooming number of abortion practices on the lack of law enforcement and moral degradation.
He called on related parties, including doctors, law enforcers and religious leaders, to discuss ways of eradicating abortion clinics.
City police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang declined to say whether or not he agreed with the legalization of abortion.
"The point is we, the police, are upholding the 1992 Health Law No. 23 and some articles of the Criminal Code which prohibit abortion unless it is for medical or health-related reasons," he said.
Clinics
Many people know that there are between two and five legal obstetric and gynecological clinics operating in particular areas, including Cikini, Tanah Tinggi, Rawasari and Senen, which offer abortions.
The practice has become a profitable business. Not only do the doctors, nurses or midwives get money from the operations, but also drug vendors and those who link patients with clinics.
A woman called Et, who organizes illegal parking near the Raden Saleh Medical Clinic in Cikini, Central Jakarta, told the Post that her parking attendants hand out the business cards of doctors, whose clinics offer abortion, to people who are seeking information.
"We are given at least Rp 10,000 for each patient we bring to the clinic and who agree to undergo the procedure."
She said at least 10 women of all ages and walks of life go to each clinic every day to abort their babies.
"Not all patients are single women. Some are housewives who already have too many children," she said.
Et, who is aged in her 30s, said the abortions carried out by certified doctors were safer than those conducted by nurses or midwives.
"Of course the doctors will charge you more. But, I don't know about the price. I only accompany the patient. You don't have to pay me anything, the doctor will give me the fee."
Et had an abortion about 14 years ago when she was about 20 years old.
When asked whether the procedure was painful, she said: "Not really. You'll just feel a bit dizzy and get a stomach ache. Just like when you menstruate.
"The procedure itself only takes about five minutes. And another half an hour to rest. You'll be given medicine to reduce the pain and headaches and to clean out the remaining blood in the uterus. You can go back to your daily activities after that."
But the procedure becomes more complicated if the gestation is more than one or two months, she said.
"The treatment is more complicated and the prices, of course, are higher. Be ready to pay no less than Rp 1.2 million, if the pregnancy is more than a month," she said. "A two- or three-week pregnancy would cost at least Rp 300,000." (cst)