‘My heart was shattered’: Social stigma hinders safe abortion in Thailand despite legalisation

walked into a public hospital in April, she knew her decision to have an abortion was right and lawful.

“The doctor said to me: ‘Do you think this is a game? You lost and you just want to restart it by killing the baby?’” Lita recalled, saying she was shocked by the reaction. The medical procedure is legitimate too if the pregnancy is a result of a sexual offence or there is a risk that the infant will be affected by severe disability once born.

Instead, she was told the decision would haunt her for the rest of her life, and that “women should be mothers, have a family and raise children”. “Medical professionals who provide abortion care face alienation and constant pressure,” said Dr Rueangkit Sirikanjanakul from the Thai Referral System for Safe Abortion .

Most of them use medication to terminate early pregnancy. Only four units offer abortion services for pregnancy that exceeds 12 weeks. Other care providers include government-run One Stop Crisis Centers and civil society groups such as RSA, Tamtang and Choices Network Thailand, which support safe abortion through legal means.Still, public awareness of their existence or how to access abortion care legally remains limited, even after the partial legalisation in February.

Data from World Health Organization between 2015 and 2019 showed 73.3 million induced abortions took place globally each year. Among these, one out of three were carried out in the least safe or dangerous conditions, for example, by untrained persons using dangerous and invasive methods.IF THE SOCIETY OPENS ITS MIND

“If the society opens its mind and accepts abortion as a method of treatment,” he added, “I believe it will enable people who want to help to step in and do so without feeling nervous.” “The phrase ‘without delay’ is not good enough because it lacks a timeframe,” said Dr Kritaya Archavanitkul, a coordinator of Choices Network Thailand.

It is good to hear that some people in Thailand are against the baby killing abortion.

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