Propose that the police stop arresting and prosecuting the provision of safe abortion services by doctors while the Constitutional Court considers whether the criminal law on abortion may be unconstitutional.
Date 20 Dec.61 Time 09.30 AM. Kamthorn Suwannakit Conference Room Department of Health Ministry of Public Health Network Supporting Choices for Unplanned Pregnant Women and Volunteer Network RSA (Referral system for Safe Abortion) held a press conference on the case of the Constitutional Court accepting the petition regarding criminal law sections 301-305 related to abortion, which may be unconstitutional
Assoc. Prof..Dr..Kritaya Archavanitkul Coordinator of the Network Supporting Choices for Unplanned Pregnant Women said that while the Constitutional Court interprets whether criminal law sections.301-305 related to abortion may be unconstitutional especially section. 301 which states that any woman who causes herself or consents to others causing her to have an abortion must be guilty under the law the fact is pregnancy does not occur solely from the woman this law intentionally neglects to hold men accountable for causing women to become pregnant which contradicts the constitution, the supreme law of the country which states that human dignity rights freedom and equality of both women and men must be equally protected The Network Supporting Choices for Unplanned Pregnant Women therefore asks the public all relevant agencies to fully understand that the Constitutional Court’s acceptance of the petition for consideration is for the benefit of the health and quality of life of women and families according to the basic human rights and asks those involved in the justice process including police prosecutors lawyers and courts to recognize and give importance to this petition in the case where the police propose to stop arresting and prosecuting the provision of safe abortion services by doctors
“The Network Supporting Choices for Unplanned Pregnant Women and Volunteer Network RSA hope that women facing problems will have access to safe services and doctors providing safe abortion services will work with dignity which will result in the smooth provision of safe services within the health system to prevent and reduce injuries and deaths of women from unsafe illegal abortions which remains a major public health issue in Thailand” Assoc. Prof..Dr..Kritaya said and added
The Constitutional Court’s acceptance of the petition to interpret the abortion law sections 301-305 as possibly unconstitutional under the Constitutional Law section 212 implies that any case decision related to this law must await the Constitutional Court’s decision first to ensure justice for those who may have their rights violated by a law that may conflict with the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand
Dr..Amorn Kaewsai Coordinator of the Volunteer Network RSA said that while the Constitutional Court is considering health personnel at all levels should not be afraid to help women access safe medical abortions and reduce barriers to accessing such services and the police should focus on cracking down on illegal abortions and the sale of abortion pills online to reduce injuries and deaths of Thai women rather than arresting medical personnel providing safe abortion services under legal conditions and medical council regulations There is clear evidence that the mortality rate from safe abortion is 300 times lower than from illegal abortions
“The mentioned criminal law has been in use since B.E..2500 (1957)which set conditions for abortion only in cases of health necessity and when the pregnancy resulted from a criminal offense but it must be understood that the social and medical context at that time was very backward while today’s society has changed and medicine has advanced greatly therefore it is necessary to repeal or amend the law to align with the current situation” Dr..Amorn said
Dr. Bancha Khaokong Deputy Director-General of the Department of Health said that the Department of Health recognizes the importance of reducing the dangers of complications from unsafe abortions and developing access to safe abortion services with medication in Thailand, thus enhancing the capacity of medical and public health personnel to provide safe abortion services in the health service system with quality and standards continuously as well as promoting the establishment of a volunteer network for safe abortion referrals Section 305 provides exceptions for doctors to perform abortions for pregnant women in 2 cases which are 1. necessity due to the woman’s health or 2. the pregnancy resulted from a criminal offense such as cases of sexual assault However a woman’s unpreparedness arises from many factors some of which may not be related to the law such as economic factors leading women to seek unsafe abortions, which is a major cause of illness and death The World Health Organization estimates that each year there are approximately 45 million abortions worldwide of which 25 million are unsafe abortions especially 97 percent of these occur in developing countries including Thailand