Relaxation of ban against abortion urged
Relaxation of ban against abortion urged
JAKARTA (JP): A medical expert proposes that Indonesia relax
its ban against abortion in the case of embryos known to have
abnormalities.
Lastiko Bramantyo of the School of Medicine at the University
of Indonesia said doctors at present cannot recommend abortions
of abnormal fetuses because there is no legal basis for it.
"I think abortion should be allowed in this case. If not, then
we will bear the burden of having abnormal children," Lastiko
told a seminar on children's health held by the Ministry of
Health on Saturday.
Lastiko said poor prenatal treatment is common in Indonesia
and this is one of the causes of abnormalities in children.
He said people's negative perception of modern medical
treatment, an unhealthy environment, poor health services and
poverty affect the condition of children and mothers in
Indonesia.
He said many villagers are still not comfortable with midwives
or doctors, preferring to be treated by traditional birth
assistants. He said the negative perception of rural women
towards physicians makes them reluctant to see doctors even when
they are pregnant.
More than 20 percent of pregnant women in the country never go
to doctors or clinics. And 38 percent go to clinics only four
times during the nine months of their pregnancies, he said.
Monopoly
Lastiko said poor health services are not the monopoly of
state hospitals or clinics, but also luxurious private hospitals,
especially where the tetanus vaccination and "rooming-in" policy
are concerned.
The "rooming in" policy requires every hospital to put a
newborn in the same room with its mother. However, a number of
private hospitals put newborns in a separate room to make
treatment easier.
The Ministry of Health's Secretary General Hidayat
Hardjoprawito said when opening the seminar that infant and
maternal mortality rates in Indonesia are still among the highest
in the world.
At present, for every 1,000 births, 42 of the mothers die. The
number of infants who die is a staggering 63 for every 1,000
births. The government is aiming to reduce these rates to 22 and
42 respectively within the next five years.
To achieve this, the government is pursuing a number of
efforts, including giving iron and iodine tablets, as well as
tetanus injections, to pregnant women, promoting at least four
medical examinations during pregnancy and sending at least one
bidan desa (village midwife) to every rural settlement.
Hidayat said, however, the best way to reduce the mortality of
mothers and children is through family planning, which has proven
to be effective in reducing the mortality rates by 30 percent.
(11)