Shelters struggle to help women and prevent abortions
Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
When Galuh Pratiwi, 25, found out one morning early this year that she was three weeks pregnant, she felt like her world had turned upside down.
Her boyfriend, an employee of a multinational telecommunications company in Jakarta, avoided responsibility, demanding that she have an abortion.
"I looked for any available information about abortion, but honestly, deep in my heart, I did not want it (the abortion)," Galuh, a student of the School of Psychology at the University of Indonesia (UI) told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
She eventually found the name of someone who could help her, Dr. Angela, through the Internet.
Galuh met Angela in person six weeks into her pregnancy.
"I was told of a shelter where I could stay during my pregnancy. Angela said there were several houses that were willing to take care of my baby temporarily," said Galuh, who decided to keep her baby and now stays in a shelter in Jakarta.
She decided to take leave from her studies for the term of her pregnancy, while her boyfriend abandoned her. Her parents, meanwhile, have refused to welcome her into their home while she is pregnant.
With her pregnancy now 32 weeks along, Galuh is expecting to give birth sometime in December.
Galuh is just one of the women who doctor, Angela N. Abidin, has persuaded not to have an abortion.
According to Angela -- an activist with non-profit organization the Love Life Movement (FKPK), some 50 pregnant women have approached her over the past one and a half years.
Some 20 FKPK activists met at Saint Carolus Hospital in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, to join in a discussion with Thomas Euteneur, the chairman of U.S.-based pro-life group Human Life International.
"They are mostly university students aged between 20 and 25 years old. When they first came to me, most of them demanded an abortion," Angela, who is also a practitioner at Saint Carolus Hospital, told the Post.
"However, abortion is not an option for us. Do not even think it is the best solution for an unwanted pregnancy," said Angela.
Abortion is illegal in Indonesia, but according to the FKPK, the number of abortions in the country stands at around two million annually.
According to Director General of the Ministry of Health's Community Health Development Agency Azrul Azwar, at least two women die in childbirth every hour. Fifty percent of those women die after having an abortion.
Angela said she always tries to encourage women to keep their babies. "During their pregnancy, if they are ashamed of their situation, we can provide them with shelter," she said.
There are currently two shelters affiliated with the movement in Jakarta. "We provide them with the minimum cost of living, about Rp 250,000 (US$28) a month," said Angela.
She said the FKPK allocates up to Rp 1 million for every woman it takes care of, which covers the salaries of staff at the shelters. "At Saint Carolus hospital, we even offer an Early Home Labor package, which allows the mother to leave the hospital after 24 hours. She only needs to pay Rp 500,000."
Aside from the FKPK, Rumah Kita (Our House) also offers temporary shelter for unmarried pregnant women.
Jeanny Widodo of Rumah Kita told the Post on Wednesday that her group also provides temporary shelter for the victims of incest and rape.
Lily Anwar from the Rumpun Lestari Foundation told the Post that the foundation provides accommodation for migrant workers who were raped by their former employers abroad and became pregnant.
"Our main objective is to reunite families. We realize that the best place for children is with their mothers. We try to get them (the mothers) vocational training or even jobs, so they can support themselves and their babies," said Lily.
She said her group had successfully reunited 45 babies with their mothers in the last three years. "We are open to taking care of the baby while the mother tries to get her life back in order. The baby can stay with us for up to two years," said Lily.
"However, some babies are just left unwanted, we should give them up for adoption. However, the selection process must be very tight," said the woman, who is taking care of 67 babies at the moment.
Lily said she prefers that babies are returned to their biological mothers rather than cared for by foster parents.
"One of the women who came to me, and gave up her baby for adoption, is still traumatized. She often cries in her sleep remembering her baby," said Lily.
"She always wants to give her child a birthday present, however, she is worried that it could create problems for his foster parents," she said.
Meanwhile, Euteneur told the discussion on Wednesday that women who have abortions may experience difficulties afterward.
"Those women are more likely to have problems with alcohol, drugs -- broken relationships, broken families -- to think about or commit suicide, suffer emotional trauma, have dreams about their (unborn) babies or remember their (unborn) babies. Women can never forget that," said Euteneur.
"Abortion is violent, however it has become big business everywhere. To abort a 10-week-old fetus costs about $300 (in the United States)," he said.