A 19-year-old girl just started her bachelor’s degree. She has a history of having one ovary removed due to a chocolate cyst. The doctor said it might happen to the other side. The doctor advised that having this condition makes it difficult to have children. However, she had a boyfriend during her senior year of high school and had unprotected sex for two months but did not get pregnant. Her periods were normal. In April, she started using condoms, but not consistently, thinking it would be hard to conceive. Her last period was on April 14, but she missed her periods in May and June. A urine test on June 16 confirmed she was pregnant.
She then sought information about unplanned pregnancy, options for continuing the pregnancy or having an abortion, and prenatal care. Afterward, she informed her boyfriend and her parents. Her mother advised keeping the pregnancy, but her father suggested termination so she could continue her studies. Her boyfriend was indifferent. Ultimately, her parents decided to terminate the pregnancy. She searched the internet for information by looking up “abortion” and found many websites selling abortion services. She read news from Thai Rath Online, which mentioned that there are now safe abortion clinics, but she didn’t know their locations. She continued to search for which agencies to contact and found the unplanned pregnancy counseling line 1663 and the Women on Web website, an international foundation. She chose to consult 1663.
“I first chatted on Facebook. They asked about the province I live in, the reason for choosing to terminate the pregnancy, and recommended this clinic.”
She met a doctor in Khon Kaen on July 4, 2017. An ultrasound showed the pregnancy was 9 weeks and 4 days, less than the 11 weeks and 6 days calculated from her last period. She was smart to search for information that led her to safe services.
“Few people search for detailed information. Some have had abortions by buying pills from websites. Initially, I thought of doing that.”
The turning point that made her search for more detailed information was seeing a friend buy pills from a website for self-use. She started searching for information on Pantip, where there were posts asking about having an abortion using pills from the web.
“People shared their experiences, saying they bought pills from the web and didn’t abort. They bought them multiple times until the child was born with brain disabilities. So, I decided not to do that.”
“My friend might have been lucky to have no issues, but I won’t risk my life like that because there’s a chance of error. So, I looked for safe abortion options.”
When she found out she was pregnant, she was still undecided, hesitating whether to keep the baby or not. She repeatedly thought about keeping the baby by dropping out of school and living with her boyfriend in Bangkok. But ultimately, she concluded that she had to terminate the pregnancy. She said that living in a rural area, neighbors would gossip if she was pregnant and her boyfriend hadn’t proposed. Her mother wanted her boyfriend to propose, but he had many financial obligations. She also had a younger sibling five years apart. If she continued her studies, she would have to drop out, delaying her graduation. When her sibling entered university in the first year, her father wouldn’t have the money to support two children in school simultaneously.
In reality, she always thought of ways to keep the baby. She had a friend who had just given birth two months ago, who asked why she didn’t keep the baby. She had her reasons, which were different from her friend’s:
1) Her parents asked her to choose termination.
2) She and her boyfriend were not ready.
3) She needed to finish her studies.
4) Regarding the sin of having an abortion, she thought about it but also thought that being unprepared and unable to care for the child would be a greater sin.
5) Finally, the option to move to Bangkok, give birth, and then return to study, but her boyfriend feared they couldn’t handle raising a child, leading to a decisive decision.
“If my boyfriend had said to keep it, there wouldn’t be today to have an abortion.” This was the conclusion she reached after thoroughly considering her reasons.
With love and care,
Uncle Doctor Ruangkit Sirikanchanakul