If woman’s or foetus’ life at threat, she can have legal abortion if husband approves
BANGKOK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A new Indonesian regulation has restricted the time frame for when rape victims and women with serious medical conditions may have abortions to within 40 days of their last menstrual period, the Jakarta Globe reported.
Outgoing Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed the regulation on reproductive health with little media attention on August 8, the newspaper said, noting that an existing article in the 2009 Health Law places no such time frame restriction.
According to another local newspaper, the Jakarta Post, the new 40-day regulation stipulates that a rape victim has the right to have an abortion, but it can only be performed by a certified doctor, at an established healthcare facility. There must also be consent of a doctor and statement from an investigator, psychologist or other expert.
The only other instance in which a woman may get an abortion is when she or her foetus faces a life-threatening health condition and if she has her husband’s approval, the Globe said.
Women’s rights activists say the 40-day restriction is arbitrary and gives rape victims little time to make clear and informed decisions. They said rape victims in rural areas often do not know they are pregnant until two or three months later.
“It’s only after 40 days that you can make a reasonably accurate decision of whether a woman is pregnant or not,” Suryono Slamet Iman Santoso, a gynaecologist at Jakarta’s Abdi Waluyo Hospital and a former reproductive health lecturer at the University of Indonesia, told the Jakarta Globe.
Others oppose the regulation because they believe abortion should be completely outlawed.
Arist Merdeka Sirait of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) told the Globe that abortion contradicts the country’s child protection law because it “ignores the child’s right to life.”
He also said since there are no witnesses in most rape cases, it cannot be determined whether or not the woman is indeed a rape victim.
(Editing by Alisa Tang: alisa.tang@thomsonreuters.com)
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