Experts divided over draft legislation on abortion
Draft legislation on abortion is coursing through review channels, but experts don't seem to be quite on the same page when it comes to legal permission for terminations.
Pensri Pichaisanit, secretary-general of the Association for the Promotion of the Status of Women, told a seminar yesterday that the incidence of unwanted pregnancies was increasing among women and girls, due to their being lured, their inability to foresee consequences and their engaging in unsafe sex. She said the Medical Council had extended the two conditions for legally permitting abortions under the Criminal Code - risk to the mother's health and rape - to unwanted pregnancies that severely interfered with the mental health and living conditions of the mother. A woman could consult with doctors and, if two doctors concurred that her pregnancy truly affected the mother-to-be, she could have an induced abortion, Pensri said. Dr Somsak Lolekha, president of the Medical Council, said on a separate occasion that such permission was nothing new. It was allowed under a regulation implemented a year ago, as the World Health Organisation's and the council's definition of "health" covered the whole range of physical and mental health and social well-being. For example, an examination could detect a baby's abnormality or disability or blood diseases could increase the risk of miscarriage or stillbirth. These factors could undermine the mother's mental health, so she would be allowed the end the pregnancy, he said, adding that this would be done carefully with a committee set up to consider the case. The Medical Council was amending the abortion law to recognise the regulation, as the old laws still interpreted "health" in the narrow sense of physical health only. The draft bill was with the Public Health Ministry for consideration, he said. Sunan Duangchan, a project director from the Planned Parenthood Association of Thailand, said the most frequent violent attacks against women were domestic - especially sexual abuse - which often led to unwanted pregnancies, infection and cervical cancer as well as physical and mental trauma. She cited a report from the Police General Hospital that 1,314 women and children were submitted to rape examinations last year. Of these, 1,003 cases were children under 18 and those aged 15-19 formed the largest group of rape victims. Her association received 21,796 requests to end unwanted pregnancies last year, she added.
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