The Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, reveals that each year there are approximately 20 million unsafe abortions worldwide, resulting in over 70,000 women dying from unsafe abortions. They are moving forward to reduce the problem among Thai women by promoting the establishment of a referral network for safe abortion (RSA: Referral System for Safe Abortion) to provide access to services for adolescents and women with unplanned pregnancies.
Dr. Wachira Pengchan, Director-General of the Department of Health revealed that
Unsafe abortion is a significant public health issue in every country worldwide, being a major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. The World Health Organization estimates that each year there are approximately 46 million abortions worldwide, of which about 20 million are unsafe, and approximately 70,000 women die from unsafe abortions annually. Of these, 95% occur in developing countries, including Thailand. However, there is still no clear data on pregnancy termination because many women with unplanned pregnancies cannot access safe and legal services, leading them to seek illegal abortions or purchase abortion pills online.
In past efforts to reduce the harm of illness and death from unsafe abortions, the Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, in collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine at Chulalongkorn, Siriraj, Ramathibodi, Khon Kaen, and Songkhla Nakarin, with support from the Concept Foundation and the World Health Organization, conducted research on the medical abortion service system. Subsequently, the drug was pushed for registration in 2014 and included in the national essential drug list the following year for use in legal and medical council-regulated pregnancy termination services.
For over 60 years, Thai law has allowed women to terminate pregnancies under the Penal Code, Section 305, where the abortion provider must be a licensed medical practitioner.
In cases where a pregnant woman has physical or mental health problems or becomes pregnant due to criminal acts as stipulated in Sections 276, 277, 282, 283, or 284, such as rape, a child under 15 years old, consensual or non-consensual sex work, or indecent deception.
However, in the past, there have been very few health facilities providing safe abortion services due to societal attitudes and many healthcare providers viewing pregnancy termination negatively and opposing the provision of abortion services in their facilities. Therefore, the Department of Health has promoted the establishment of a referral network for safe abortion (RSA: Referral System for Safe Abortion) to provide access to services for adolescents and women with unplanned pregnancies.
Those with problems can call the unplanned pregnancy consultation line at 1663 to receive counseling and referral services, whether the choice is to continue the pregnancy or terminate it, including providing effective contraception services. Currently, the RSA network has 110 officially appointed volunteer doctors from the Department of Health and 262 multidisciplinary volunteers to ensure Thai women have a good quality of life in celebration of International Women’s Day.
Source: https://www.sanook.com/health/10125/ Date: March 12, 2018