The Straits Times
AUG 25 1998
Free abortions offered to rape victims
Despite abortions being illegal in Indonesia, some doctors are taking
the risk and offering their services 'to ease the rape victims'
ordeal'
JAKARTA -- The Jakarta branch of Indonesia's Medical Association has
taken a controversial step to offer free abortions to
rape victims of the May riots -- despite the fact that abortions are
against the law in Indonesia.
In a report yesterday, The Jakarta Post noted that more than three
months after the riots, some rape victims may find their trauma
compounded by pregnancy.
But it added that the association was "stepping into a potential
minefield because the procedure is a criminal offence in Indonesia
and widely considered a violation of social norms".
Association chairman Agus Purwadianto told the newspaper that "as
experts, we feel obliged to help the victims...We just want to
ease the victims' ordeal".
Several association members have pledged their support and were willing
to run the risk of social condemnation.
The members are located in North and West Jakarta -- where most of the
rapes reportedly took place -- as well as in other parts
of the Indonesian capital.
Abortion carries a maximum four-year prison team under a law which
states that a pregnancy may be terminated only if it
endangers the mother's health.
Dr Agus said the association would seek a psychiatrist's opinion of the
victim's mental condition before determining whether the
abortion should be performed.
"If the victim is experiencing mental distress as a result of the rape
as stated by the psychiatrist, we will have the grounds to
conduct an abortion because it's considered emergency circumstances," he
added.
During the riots, about 168 women and children, mostly those of Chinese
descent, were reportedly raped and sexually assaulted.
Twenty died from the assaults or committed suicide, according to
non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The Jakarta Post noted that since then, "there have been no
arrests...and the police claim not one woman has come forward to file
a report of rape or sexual assault".
"Some have even dismissed the reports as untrue and a calculated attempt
to blacken the image of Indonesia abroad," the paper
added.
Dr Agus said the association intended to cooperate with NGOs, social
agencies and the fact-finding team dealing with rape
victims.
He said he and other doctors were not afraid of being prosecuted, and
argued that carrying out the abortions would be one way
of restoring the country's tattered reputation.