Legalisation of abortion in the crossroad

LEGALISATION OF ABORTION IN THE CROSSROAD

By Fanny Syariful Alam

In last May 2005 the issue of Legalisation of abortion began to show up to the surface. Soon lots of various opinions emerged, taking a part as a place for a difference. As we know the issue has always been a debutable statement between the pros and the cons. We mention the pro as the pro choice group meanwhile the cons is stated as the pro life. Eversince the release of the Act of Health no 23/1992 starting that all doctors and medical workers are allowed to be in charge of any action which can save the longing lofe of a mother and a baby, this action somehow leads to the terminology of Abortion, and it caused a significant roar due to the critic telling there is no syhncronization of definition of the abovementioned action to the one figured out in the Indonesia Crime’s Act (KUHP), deriving out the meaning that any act leading to aborting babies (except the action leading to the mother safety, in which this is also debutable still) is considered the criminal part. It is also outlining that all doctors and medical workers involved in this action will be taken into the valid legal suit. And once again, women here are into the unlucky position, they somehow do not have any capacity in bargaining to survive their reproduction right. The right has been taken publicly and they do not know what to do in surviving it.

The problem arising often is that public seem having the right to justify the very personal right of women to be conducted. And it makes any woman be in the complex situation.

So Where are the women now?

Reastically it is not something easily accepted to see any single,not yet married woman to be in pregnancy eventhough maybe it becomes a single personal right from them. When they give a birth the social pressure not only stops here but also continues to be involving seriously to their babies life. Some classical problem occur in accomodating their legal status in their birth letter, schools, and social accepatance futhermore.

Stil when a woman decides to conduct an abortion,even public do not pay an attention for what causes she does it for, there seems to be a huge tendency for them to judge her as a baby murderer, an immoral one and many uncomfortable status come socially.

Again, the personal right becomes a tendency to grow more publicly.

And when the legalisation uproared to the surface, people started to give a hint, critizing that the legalisation only enables women to do abortion more easily. So the general opinion from one side is taken generally and they do not see the essence of the legalisation itself. Do they feel aware of seeing the fact telling that estimatedly 2 million women in indonesia conduct an abortion each year? And 70 % of them is married women? Do they feel noticed that most of them are doing an abortion unmedically even leading to the mortality of both women and babies? Do they feel wary that the longer time to wait for another better regulation conducted by Government here, the more and more women conduct an abortion illegally which it easily leads to the death?

Most of public similiarize the definition of ‘legalisation’ as the part of ‘liberalisation’. Legalisation here is defined that any single action leading to any women abortion will be regulated very carefully, starting from conducting some councelling process, notifying the women’s conditions both physically and mentally and, the councelling process will not determine whether the women should conduct an abortion or not, while Liberalisation is meant to be doing everything freely even without thinking any future consequences occuring after that.

This matter finally will be returned to the women themselves as a decision maker, consequently, they can consider their decision over without feeling guilty.

In some countries where an abortion action is not resticted, the number of women conducting the abortion is even in a sharp decrease. It is because of a significant councelling result which finally gives the women there to think twice before conducting any action.

So , again, conducting an abortion there does not seem as easy as most people see from the cover of the countries.

Legalisation of abortion, eventually, is having a main purpose of tightly regulating the process before and after in conducting any choosen action by women. Creditably, each action is guaranteed medically safe and more convinience due to the role of professional workers over there.

Here the discussion leading to the legalisation of abortion has been into nowhere, eversince there was not any single talk about it,while outside there more women probably find their destiny conducting their own way of abortion which it always turns to be totally risky. And no attention has been derived from public about it.

Anyway, two responsible options are waiting for Indonesia’s public who are said to be very tolerant for any problem (should it be proven or not, let just depend it on everybody). Firstly, if only the legalisation of abortion were on the top to be approved, then what would be prepared is to provide more facilities and professional qualifed people for conducting the determined action taken by women here. The legalisation is somehow expected to give such a learning process for any person including women to be more responsible for their reproduction right and how public take it as a big lesson to support any decision. Secondly, unless the legalisation of abortion were not restricted, then for any person it would be a beginning for them to be tolerant to the women socially and removing all stigma to both women and their babies. If the women decided to continue their pregnancy to the period of giving a birth, then let’s just give them an opportunity to live in a normal social condition without justifying any bad to them, and let them get a normal process in handling the legal status for the birth document, family information, and education.

With this development of time, more people growing with better education and living are expected to show their care to handle this matter. With this development of era, more preachers from any religion class are expected to see this problem regarding to the recent social condition. It is not very necessary anymore to give a negative judgement. Both the legalisation and not later on need a precise solution to think over

Name : fanny Syariful Alam

Age : 29 years old

Sex : male

Occupation : a technical facilitator in an NGO concerning the matter of reproduction health and women empowerment

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