Da (a pseudonym), 20 years old, says that she currently has a 7-month-old baby and lives with her partner’s family. Besides this child, her partner also has two other children with his ex. Her partner does not help take care of Da’s child at all and does not take responsibility for expenses, but is heavily addicted to gambling. Her partner’s family once told Da that if she gets pregnant again, she would have to leave the house because they can’t support her anymore. After giving birth, Da thought about getting a contraceptive injection, but before she could go, she found out she was almost two months pregnant. Da is very worried and doesn’t dare to tell anyone.
She once asked her partner what they would do if she got pregnant. Her partner said to just be pregnant, not to terminate it for fear of sin, but didn’t care at all. So Da decided to terminate it without telling anyone, but she has no money and can’t travel anywhere because her child is still young and it’s difficult to go out. Da hopes that when her child grows a bit, she wants to find a job to take care of her child well by herself. She doesn’t want to be in this situation anymore…
If Da goes for an unsafe abortion, she might get an infection or die. What will happen to her young child, and who will take care of them? By going for an abortion, Da herself risks criminal charges under Section 301, which states, “Any woman who causes herself to have an abortion or allows another person to cause her to have an abortion shall be liable to imprisonment for not more than three years or a fine of not more than sixty thousand baht, or both…”
But this offense will not reach Da’s partner, who is partly responsible for her pregnancy, because the law does not penalize men, even though Da’s partner does not take responsibility for the child at all. Where is the justice?