Abortion, Etical Question for Who?

Selected fact: Each year at least one women die every minute due to pregnancy causes

Family planning alone can reduce maternal mortality by 25 %Worldwide, there are nearly 80 million unintended pregnancy annually, and more than half ends up in abortion. Almost 20 million of those abortions are unsafe (traditional, septic, nonskilled etc) and 78.000 result in death. In another word one women die due to abortion every 7 minute. Most of them happened in the developing world, including Indonesia. Then, mirroring successful European approach, the idea of legalized abortion came up.

What do we say???? NO NO NO, BIG NO It is unethical, it is against human right, how dare those doctors claim them self to be able to take some ones life. The life's of the unborn. No question, it just the right thing to say. Taking some one life is absolutely inhuman. But, do we ever ask our self this ethical question before pointing our finger to those poor girls and women or even to those doctors who's against all odd still doing it. I am a mother, I know for some it is a very difficult and traumatic decision to make. Taking the life of your own child? Or you can choose to keep them but, you cannot give the affection and love that you will give to the wanted one? Is it a fair life to live?

I am a doctor, it is indeed a hard decision to make, you were trained to safe life not to take it away in purpose, you are not trained as a butcher. But you prefer to sacrifice your believe to help her or seeing her die anyway because of the unsafe procedure. Which is the more ethical act anyway? (You can always say, they are not coming to you, you never see them, it just none of your business) But why are they still doing it? I hate when abortion came up as an option, but do we ever realized abortion is a choise within our ignorance.

It is not only an ethical question for the mother and the doctor, it is also a question for us a society. Do we have a free family planning method for everyone, despite their ability to pay and stigmatization which hinder their access to it. Can you imagine 16 years old boy buys condom, or 16 years old girl buys contraception pill without having that stabbing look from their surrounding? Can you imagine your counseling teacher offer it to you? If indeed this young 16 years old girl become pregnant, can you imagine that if she choose to keep her baby she will be able to come back to school and pursue her higher education with a big tummy?

Maybe it is rare in Bali, that the parent refuse the girl and kick her out of the house, but still if it happened, do we have a social network to give her a shelter? some training for life skill, ensuring her to be able to take care of her self and her baby, psychosocial counseling to help her to be a good mother? Don't we just talk about her behind her back? If indeed this child is born without a father, are we going to stigmatize this child? If indeed this child born with diffabillity (different ability/ the new unstigmatizing word for disability, people are not disable they only born or just develop different ability then others) are we not connecting this event with the unwanted pregnancy? There are many of this gossip based "truth" which make us as an unethical society.

We pointed one finger to them but at the same time we pointed the other four fingers to our self. Extra marital sex, unwanted pregnancy are fact. Turning out our face is not solving the problem. Prevent the pregnancy is far better then having an abortion, contraception for every one is one of the answer along with reproductive health education. Building a social network of support for single mother who keeps her baby, put pressure to our education system to allow pregnant girl continue their study until the due date. Presure the society against extramarital pregnancy and children. There are answers, if we put an effort to seek.

Being hypocrite will never help, picking a scape goat is just immature. I can not help but wonder, ABORTION ETHICAL QUESTION FOR WHO?