Abortion in Thailand is not entirely illegal. The law allows women to decide to have an abortion by a doctor, with medical reasons indicated for the health and life of the pregnant woman, including pregnancies resulting from sexual offenses as follows:
- The pregnancy adversely affects the life or physical health of the woman.
- The pregnancy resulted from rape.
- The pregnancy in a girl under the age of 15, regardless of whether the girl consents or not.
- The pregnancy resulted from deception, coercion, or threats for indecent acts to satisfy sexual desires.
- The pregnancy adversely affects the mental health of the woman (as further specified in the Medical Council regulations of 2005, expanding “health” to include both physical and mental, but not yet specified in the law).
- The fetus has a disability (as further specified in the Medical Council regulations of 2005, using the reason of the woman’s mental health issues, but not yet specified in the law).
A survey by the Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health from 243 hospitals in 13 provinces in 2014 found that 30.8% had abortions due to physical health reasons, while 69.2% had abortions for economic, social, and family reasons, using the interpretation from the Medical Council regulations that those facing these problems have mental health issues.
What is the history of abortion laws? Click here: https://rsathai.org/en/contents/25824