Thai Lawmakers voted on Monday 166-7 to amend a law that criminalizes abortion beyond 12 weeks of pregnancy based on set conditions.
Reuters reported that the amendment will allow abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy if " there is a high risk of fetal impairment, danger to the life of the mother, or if a pregnancy was the result of rape, deception or coercion." Violations would lead to a six-month imprisonment, a fine of 10,000 baht (about $333), or both.
"This mean abortion is conditional and can only be done by doctors according to the law," Senator Wanlop Tangkhananurak said.
The decision came after a February 2020 court ruling that said it was unconstitutional to criminalize abortion besides being a human rights violation, Reuters said.
Human Rights Watch expounded that the Thailand Constitutional Court ruled in February 2020 that its existing criminal code provision is unconstitutional. In particular, this is sending people who have undergone an abortion and their abortionists to a three-year imprisonment. The ruling gave the Thai government until February 12, 2021 to repeal its provisions, which was done by the said amendment.
The amendment, as per Human Rights Watch, "falls short of ensuring reproductive rights protected by international human rights law." They reported that Thailand should fully decriminalize abortion since government restrictions will continue to drive women to have more dangerous abortions citing a 2011 United Nations figures that show "unsafe abortion rate was more than four times greater in countries with restrictive abortion policies than in countries with liberal ones."
Echoing this sentiment, pro-choice activists in the country expressed their dissatisfaction on the amendment since "retaining penalties would maintain the stigma of abortion."
"We want all penalties to be revoked because it is a person's right to abort a pregnancy without being punished. The penalties will impede on a person's access to safe services and also tarnish the dignity of those women," said pro-choice group Tam Tang Councilor Nisarat Jongwisan.
The amendment will only become effective after announcement on the Royal Government Gazette, Khaosod English raised. Nevertheless, Khaosod reported the amendment already garnered condemnation from the Catholic Church in Thailand for being "immoral."
"Our standpoint is clear. We oppose all forms of abortion since we hold that life is born after a zygote is formed. We must think about the rights of the unborn children as well," stated Catholic Bishop of Thailand Director of Pastoral Care Rev. Fr. Pairat Sriprasert.
"People may argue that women want to get an abortion because they're not ready to raise a child or are financially unstable, but there are solutions to these problems," he added, "People get abortions because they want to get around the problem, they don't want to solve the problem."
Even though only one percent of the Thai population follow Christianity, Khaosod English said that priests are already gathering signatures for a petition that "urges lawmakers to reconsider the bill" alongside public awareness campaigns on abortion.
However, Sriprasert clarified, "We will not go as far as staging a protest. But we will keep standing up for our belief. Although the law may eventually pass, the conscience prevails in this world. Actions have to be taken even though we are outnumbered in this Buddhist's majority country."
