Is abortion illegal in Thailand?
I have always been under the impression that abortion is illegal in Thailand, but as you know, when something is illegal in this country, it can mean any one of a number of things. For example, in Phuket, there is a certain type of fishing trap that has been illegal since 1996, but the local government came up with a scheme that if anybody could prove that their fishing traps weren’t harming the environment, that those people would be allowed to use them. This completely neglected the government’s stance that the traps were a menace to marine life.
Then there’s the sex industry in Thailand. Prostitution is illegal? Ah, who really knows the answer to this issue? But what about abortion? I know that abortions take place in Thailand, and I know people who have had them, but the small matter of the law has always confused me.
All the sources I could find online, including the Thai Visa forums, stated that induced abortion is illegal in Thailand, with the possible exceptions of women who have been raped or exposed to dangerous chemicals.
So you can imagine my surprise when I came across a news story from The Nation about the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approving the use of anti-hemorrhaging drugs to prevent blood loss after abortion.
The drugs will be used at Medical Council of Thailand-registered obstetrics clinics, which suggests that abortions are performed regularly at these clinics.
Meanwhile, a long-running Public Health Ministry survey of pregnant women attending public hospitals revealed that more than one quarter had abortions while in hospital.
It sounds like abortion is widespread in Thailand. Could it be one of those taboos that society as a whole turns a blind eye to? I think it must be, because I have never heard of any cases of people being arrested for giving abortions.
I’d like to ask what some of my Thai readers think about the matter of abortion. Are you pro or against? I imagine that the arguments put forward by Thai people would be quite different to my own, but I’m not sure how these arguments will vary from one demographic to the next.
An interesting topic anyway.
August 3rd, 2007 at 1:17 pm
Hi Matty,
Abortion is illegal except in the case of a sexual offence (rape, incest etc.) or if the birth is likely to be a serious threat to the mother's health. My better half says she opposes abortion because she thinks the parents should always take responsibility for their actions.
I support abortion for slightly unusual reasons: it reduces crime. I discovered this after I read the 'Freakanomics' book.
August 3rd, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Every now and again you'll hear about aborted fetuses being seen in Saen Saeb canal or some of the other klongs around the city.
August 4th, 2007 at 2:47 am
It reduced crimes in the US at a every particular time in history and in very specific situation. Elsewhere and today that remains to be proved! Let's not make generalization…
August 4th, 2007 at 2:55 am
As a Buddhist, having an abortion would be breaking the first precept – to abstain from harming or killing livings beings. Abortion would carry some very bad khamma with tremendous consequences for the future. It is also depriving a human being to reach enlightenment since it is killed before having the chance to try!
Then there is a personal Buddhist approach to abortion which admits its possibility. If you want to know more see this .
August 4th, 2007 at 6:37 am
And appropriately, this is what your blog looks like when I popped in: http://oakmonster.com/lostboy.jpg
August 4th, 2007 at 9:17 am
If you believe that karma will revisit your sins upon you then you should go ahead. You know you'll pay for it in the end so any path of action becomes defensible. Same goes for christians and purgatory.
Better not to do bad stuff just because its bad? Do you really need some dusty old parchments or mystical musings to explain when something is bad?
I think there is a sliding scale of badness in terminating pregnancy. Not too bad to off a little tadpole. If I was 3 days shy of my first breath and I got hoovered I think I'd be a tad miffed.
August 4th, 2007 at 10:03 am
Of course abortion is illegal everywhere in the world, has matt been in thailand too long and don't have any morality left :D?
American sucks , Don't they have moral/civic lesson in class ?
August 4th, 2007 at 10:30 am
Abortion is not illegal everywhere in the world. And did you see my opinion about abortion expressed here? No, so how can you comment on my morality? And what does this have to do with America?
August 4th, 2007 at 12:16 pm
Abortion is illegal in Thailand, but a woman is still allowed to go into the procedure on the condition that there is a necessity concerned with the woman's health. The exceptional abortion case, therefore, needs to be carried out according to the following:
1. The abortion must be executed by legitimate doctors.
2. Women who are pregnant must give their consent to the doctors to carry out the procedure.
3. An abortion which is carried out to protect a woman's health or where a woman is pregnant as a result of law breaking such as rape. In these cases, they are permitted to do so.
However, if a pregnant woman finds out in advance by an x-ray or ultrasound examination that the baby is malformed, be that as it may, she is not allowed to have an abortion. This is because even though the baby might be born with a disability, that does not mean the baby does not deserve to live.
More information about abortion law in Thailand, can be found in articles 301 and 302.
August 4th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
Abortion is illegal in Thailand, except under certain circumstances. It is widely available in big cities though, notably with the clinics linked to Cabbages and Condoms restaurants (some kind of family planning).
August 5th, 2007 at 5:02 am
yep yep… abortion is illegal. i think it's against the buddhist (and catholic) believes also. not quite sure about that. :) but even if it's illegal, it's a common practice for a lot of ppl. i imagine there should be quite a number of women died from it too. but then again i dunno much about it. :)
hope ur doing gud matt. :) having fun in phuket?
August 5th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
It's illegal. It's against every believe.
September 21st, 2007 at 3:53 pm
Some of the private five star hospitals are known to do the procedure with a minimum of fuss about the "legality" of it. Without the efforts of Meechai's Cabbages and Condoms family planning clinics, safe abortions would only be available to those who could afford it.
October 26th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
The subject is back in the news, and the Thai government is once more using the well proven ineffectual approach: Let's close more website… (follow my link)
December 22nd, 2008 at 2:38 am
for those who know it's under-the-table legal, where does one turn to find one of these legit clinics/doctors mentioned? websites, numbers???