Herman Genie & Ezra Sihite, Jakarta – A new government regulation placing a 40-day restriction for rape victims and women with serious medical conditions to have abortions has sparked criticism, with some experts suggesting that it might as well mean a whole ban on abortion, while others still reject the abortion policy altogether.

Although the 2009 Health Law allows women in Indonesia to get abortions under specific circumstances, a new presidential regulation derived from the law imposes a 40-day restriction on that.

The regulation on reproductive health, which was signed by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last Friday amid little media attention, stipulates that women who get pregnant as a result of rape and those with serious medical conditions may apply for a legal abortion within 40 days of their last menstrual period.

Experts say the new rule will give rape victims virtually no time to make a clear and informed decision about whether they want to abort the fetus.

"There shouldn't be this 40-day restriction," Masruchah, a member of the National Commission on Violence Against Women, or Komnas HAM, told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday. "Rape victims in rural areas, for instance, often never find out that they're pregnant" until two or three months later."

Suryono Slamet Iman Santoso, a gynecologist at Jakarta's Abdi Waluyo Hospital and a former reproductive health lecturer at the University of Indonesia, notes that most women don't even think about testing for pregnancy until after 40 days from their last period.

"That's when their expected period is typically about two weeks late. So it's only after 40 days that you can make a reasonably accurate decision of whether a woman is pregnant or not," he told the Jakarta Globe. "I believe there shouldn't be this restriction. It will be hard to implement."

The new regulation also fleshes out the process for determining what constitutes a life-threatening health condition for the mother or fetus, which is the only other circumstance where a woman may get an abortion, but restricts this too by requiring that the woman obtains approval from her husband. No such condition is listed in the 2009 Health Law.

Government officials, however, are crowing over what they call a progressive regulation, saying it places women's health at the fore.

"It takes into consideration every aspect of the health, safety and comfort of the woman, her family and the fetus," Anung Sugihantono, the health ministry's director general for maternal and children's health, said in Jakarta on Tuesday. "It should also be understood that this regulation does not legalize abortion," he added.

The government regulation will be shored up with a Health Ministry regulation that details the processes and mechanisms for a legal abortion, Anung said.

Abortion to save lives

Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin defended the new regulation by saying that it was already in line with an edict issued by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) stating that abortions may be performed based on very strong reasons such as medical considerations.

"The government regulation on abortion is in line with the MUI edict because abortion can only be performed on several conditions," Lukman said. The minister said abortion was allowed if it was the only way to save the mother's life or for health reasons – either physical or psychological.

Rape victims usually suffer from either physical or psychological problems he said. "Both pose problems to the mother's safety and medical experts, doctors are authorized to decide on that," he said.

Lukman said the permission to perform an abortion was very strict because it had to be done based on strong medical grounds and the pregnancy should not be more than 40 days.

Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Linda Amalia Sari Gumelar corroborated Lukman's views, saying that many underage rape victims suffer endless trauma and are not ready to raise a child.

"We've received information from many rape victims that this trauma continued for a very long time, especially when they were minors and not ready to have children. This means that there is a place for such a government regulation," Linda said.

Linda also said that aside from strong medical reason, abortions could be performed after the patient went through counseling and after receiving approval from her husband or family. "And there are still steps in the health ministerial regulation that need to be taken in order to implement the government regulation," she said.

Health Minister Nafsiah Mboi said the counseling was provided before and after the abortion.

Rejection

However, some health professionals and children's activists reject the regulation altogether.

Zaenal Abidin, chairman of the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI), lashed out at the government for issuing the regulation, saying doctors should not be dragged into performing abortions on patients as it violates the Criminal Code (KUHP) and doctors' code of ethics.

"Don't drag us [doctors] in if you want to perform abortions. We don't want to be jailed because the KUHP is still in place. Old laws from Babylonia and the Hippocratic Oath made by Hippocrates strongly object to abortions," Zaenal said in his office on Wednesday.

But he agreed that an exception could be applied if the abortion was carried out in a medical emergency in order to save the mother's life. He said such exception was also stated in the famous Islamic philosopher Ibnu Sina's book on medical principles.

"So, we have to refer to the basic principles of medical sciences. If you want to perform an abortion, don't take us along. Don't create a dilemma for doctors," he said.

Zaenal said the government should take into consideration the sociological aspect of the abortion when issuing a regulation. He said no religions allow abortion and that people engaging in casual sex would take advantage of the regulation.

"Wise people have principles. You will fall into the deepest pit if you loosen the moral ties. So, it's better not to issue such a regulation because it would pave the way for the emergence of other regulations that would loosen the moral ties," he said.

Arist Merdeka Sirait of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) also opposed the regulation, saying it was contradictory to the 2002 Law on Child Protection.

"Article 1 of the child protection law states that children are those under 18 years of age and that includes fetuses. This means abortion cannot be justified because it ignores the child's right to life," Arist said. He said abortion is not only violating the law but it is also a form of human rights violation, adding that only God has the right to take lives.

"I totally agree that we have to protect rape victims. But we also have to be careful that it could be contradictory to Article 1 of the Child Protection Law," he said.

Arist says that normally there are no witnesses in rape cases and therefore it cannot be determined that the woman was a rape victim.

Arist acknowledged that the psychological burden of rape victims was very high and therefore the government should protect them. "The fetus carried by the rape victims should not be killed. The government should protect them. This is the responsibility of the government," he said.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/new-abortion-regulation-stirs-hornets-nest/