Khofifah voices concern over abortion case
JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of the Empowerment of Women Khofifah Indar Parawansa called on Tuesday for tough measures against three people, including a doctor and midwife, accused of performing abortions in the capital.
"I hope law enforcers could apply Law No. 23 on Health which provides maximum penalties for medical staff who dare to perform such (illegal) procedures," Khofifah told reporters.
She said the suspects, as medical professionals, should have understood the ethical principles of their work and rejected any requests for abortions.
"It is clearly stated in the law that such conduct is unethical and should be punished," she said.
North Jakarta Police detectives arrested an obstetrician, a midwife and an assistant for allegedly performing some 200 illegal abortions in the past 11 months.
The doctor, Agung Waluyo, 41, claimed he conducted the abortions out of sense of social responsibility to assist women in ridding themselves of unwanted pregnancies. He said he charged them between Rp 600,000 (US$80) and Rp 2 million for the procedure.
The midwife, identified as Siti Jubaedah, alias Jujuk, told police that her role was to assist the doctor and set the charges for the abortions.
The man, Arman Sasmita, alias Roby, the doctor's assistant, was hired to dump the fetuses in a nearby river.
The abortions were carried out at the doctor's home on Jl. Musik Raya in Kelapa Gading.
Several cases of illegal abortions have rocked the capital in recent years. One of the most recent was in 1997 and involved two clinics. News of the abortions surfaced after the bodies of aborted fetuses were found dumped on riverbanks and in parks.
The doctors and midwives involved received jail terms ranging from one year to six years each.
Khofifah also blamed the women for resorting to abortion.
"It will be impossible for me to boost women's empowerment if women still cannot respect their rights and the dignity of reproduction."
Records
A reported two million abortions have been performed in the country in the last three years, with an estimated 750,000 involving young, unmarried women.
"The increase in the number of abortions is related to the growing modern lifestyle that encourages promiscuity and drug use among teenagers," she said.
"And there are paramedics who take advantages of the situation by doing the medically unethical practice."
Khofifah said the United States was among the countries promoting the importance of sexual abstinence among teenagers, but the opposite trend was occurring in Indonesia.
"Maybe the media should help campaign for the importance of virginity here," she said.
"As the chief of the National Family Planning Board, I will never recommend abortion as part of the family planning program."
Separately, North Jakarta Police chief Col. Wisjnu Amat Sastro said on Tuesday that his detectives were still searching for the discarded corpses of the aborted fetuses.
"The Sunter river is very strong flowing, and the fetuses could have reached anywhere. The confessions of the suspects and witnesses' statements are clear enough. That's all we need to get the suspects," Wisjnu told The Jakarta Post.
He said the suspects would be charged according to several health laws and Article 338 of the Criminal Code on murder.
The article carries a maximum punishment of a 15-year jail term. (04/ylt)