The Right to Make Decisions About the Body of “Women”
March 8 International Women’s Day: Promoting Women’s Rights
March 8 of every year is International Women’s Day, a day when the world comes together to honor and promote women’s rights, including the right to education, work, social equality, and decisions about their own bodies.
In Thailand, although women have more rights to make choices about sexual health, there are still many limitations, especially regarding contraception and abortion, which are issues that need understanding and support from society.
1. The Right to Contraception for Thai Women
In Thailand, women of all ages can legally access contraception services at service units or healthcare facilities according to their rights, facilities in the gold card system, or facilities in the national health insurance system. Rights can be checked at the Paotang app > Health Wallet > Good Health Rights Prevention Menu.
However:
- Access to contraception for teenagers and vulnerable groups still has limitations, such as embarrassment, lack of accurate information, or the attitudes of service providers towards teenagers seeking services.
- Condoms and birth control pills are still expensive in some areas.
Support Guidelines:
- Increase accessible channels for information about contraception.
- Adjust the attitudes of service providers, not judging if teenagers want to access contraception.
2. The Right to Abortion in Thailand
Currently, Thai law allows women to legally terminate a pregnancy under certain conditions.
- Pregnancy not exceeding 12 weeks: Women can terminate the pregnancy voluntarily.
- Pregnancy more than 12 weeks but not exceeding 20 weeks: Can be done by receiving counseling services
- All gestational ages: Termination is allowed if there is a risk to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman, the fetus has severe abnormalities, the pregnant woman is under 15 years old, or the pregnancy is due to sexual assault, without the need to report to the police.
Although the law has been improved to support women’s rights, Thai society still stigmatizes those who choose to terminate a pregnancy, making many women afraid to seek safe services.
Support Guidelines:
- Provide accurate information about abortion laws.
- Reduce stigma and create understanding that abortion is a health service, not a crime.
3. Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Thailand
Although Thailand has a health system that provides reproductive health services to the public, access still has limitations, such as:
- Lack of understanding about sexual health among teenagers
- Lack of doctors and facilities providing safe abortion services
- High costs of contraception and some services
Support Guidelines:
- Increase the number of facilities providing sexual health services.
- Provide reproductive health education from secondary school level.
- Support the establishment of easily accessible and safe sexual health clinics.
Summary: The Rights of Thai Women to Make Decisions About Their Own Bodies
- Thai women have the right to contraception and access to sexual health services, but there are still some limitations.
- The law allows for abortion, but there are still conditions and social pressures.
- The health system should be developed and understanding of women’s rights should be increased.
If society supports women in having the power to make decisions about their own bodies, it will help create equality and reduce the problem of unplanned pregnancies in the long term.
For consultation on women’s health rights, contact us here RSA Online: https://abortion.rsathai.org
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