Move comes despite country recording falling birth and fertility rates
It was reported in March this year that Thailand’s total fertility rate (TFR) was 1.5 last year, down from 2 in 1995. The TFR is the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime. (Photo: Supplied)
The Thai government has announced the legalization of abortion up to the 20th week of pregnancy to allow better public access to the hitherto restricted procedure despite falling birth rates in the Buddhist-majority country.
The amended abortion rules were circulated through the Royal Gazette on Sept 26, to be effective within 30 days, Thairath newspaper reported on Sept 27.
Traisuree Traisoranakul, the Deputy Spokeswoman for the Prime Minister’s Office, said that the government stresses the need to show empathy and understanding toward pregnant women seeking an abortion.
Medical professionals should “listen to the problems of pregnant women with care and friendliness” and they should not approach in a “stigmatizing or judging” manner, she said.
The spokeswoman also stressed providing basic medical information along with non-persuasive and non-compulsive termination information to women.
She urged medical personnel not to stigmatize individuals and ensure confidentiality during the process while protecting the rights of the women and their unborn children.
“Abortion used to be allowed only under specific circumstances”
The Thai government issued a statement saying that abortions of up to 20 weeks “will not count as a crime.”
The authorities specified that women must “consult with medical consultants so that she has all of the information before she decides to terminate a pregnancy”.
Previously, the government permitted abortions up to the 12th week of pregnancy.
However, up until February 2021 abortion in Thailand used to be allowed only under specific circumstances and violations warrant stringent punishment.
Self-termination of pregnancy was, and still is, illegal and clinical abortion was permitted only when there was a threat to the mother’s life, in cases of rape, the mother’s age being under 15, or in case of fetal genetic abnormalities.
Self-medication and illegal termination of pregnancy carry imprisonment no longer than six months and/or a fine no higher than 10,000 baht (US$260).
“Buddhists and Catholics have been vehemently opposing the legalization of abortion”
Thai society regards abortion as a sin and taboo which subjects many women to judgment and condemnation.
Despite the strict law and stigma, media reports suggest that illegal abortions were rife in the Buddhist-majority country. In 2010, some 2,000 fetuses were found in a temple, sending shockwaves nationwide.
Religious groups including Buddhists and Catholics have been vehemently opposing the legalization of abortion.
In January 2021, the country’s Catholic Bishops Conference of Thailand (CBCT) issued a pastoral letter to appeal to clergy, religious, and laypeople to oppose the amendment to criminal law to liberalize abortion. The letter urged the CBCT members and the heads of religious organizations to collect signatures to voice opposition to abortion.
The letter also said the Church has reaffirmed its position on abortion to Thailand’s House of Representatives, the Senate, and the chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Religions, Morals, Ethics, Arts and Culture.
“We oppose all forms of abortion… We must think about the rights of the unborn children as well,” said Father Pairat Sriprasert, director of pastoral care at the CBCT, La Croix International reported in January 2021.
“Thailand will enter a ‘complete-aged society’ next year”
“People may argue that women want to get an abortion because they’re not ready to raise a child or are financially unstable, but there are solutions to these problems,” Father Sriprasert further added.
The nation liberalizes abortion further despite the fact it is already reeling under a demographic decline fueled by a low birth rate.
The Southeast Asian country registered a record low birth rate of just below 545,000 newborns in 2021, a figure lower than the number of deaths that year, which was 563,650, according to data by the National Statistical Office. The number of newborns was 820,000 in 1995.
It was reported in March this year that Thailand’s total fertility rate (TFR) was 1.5 last year, down from 2 in 1995. The TFR is the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime.
The state-run think-tank, the National Economic and Social Development Council predicted that with the current trend, Thailand will enter a “complete-aged society” next year when it will have 20 percent of its population aged 60 and above. The country will become a “super-aged society” in 2033 when elderly citizens are expected to account for 28 percent of the total population.
Thailand has some 380,000 Catholics, accounting for roughly half a percent of some 69 million people in the country.
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