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Home » News from Thailand » 'Corona crisis causes difficult decisions such as abortion'
'Corona crisis causes difficult decisions such as abortion'
Many Thais are sinking into deep and hopeless poverty, now that public life has come to a standstill due to the Covid-19 crisis. A Thai woman, Koi (39), with two children aged 10 and 14, says she has decided to terminate her pregnancy because the family's income has been greatly reduced and they are falling deeper into debt.
Choosing an abortion is very sensitive in Thailand because it is contrary to the Buddhist idea that you should not kill a living being. However, the woman says that she could not do otherwise and that she is very sad.
Koi and her husband sell food at a market in Khon Kaen. Shortly after the government imposed curfew, sales plummeted as customers stayed away. The normal income of about 30.000 baht per month dropped to less than 10.000 baht. Savings dwindled and debts increased.
Koi: “When I found out I was 6 weeks pregnant, I was shocked because I couldn't afford a third child financially. We are poor and live in a small house with a monthly payment of 2.000 baht.”
Source: Bangkok Post
If you can't give a child what it deserves, that's the best solution. There are already enough losers in this world. Humans take the decision of whether or not to procreate very lightly. In any case, raising 2 children with 30.000 Baht per month is not easy, let alone with 3.
Contraception is dirt cheap in Thailand…think 100 Baht a month and you are protected.
With all due respect to believers, I don't think Buddha will buy food for that child. I also hear few people who currently receive money from any God. I've always known that in times of need one should never expect much from those invisible holy friends.
And what about the visible holy friends, all dressed in orange.
Jan Beute.
Certainly a tough choice, should you give birth to a child if you lack the means or help to give your child a good education? I can imagine it must be a dilemma for the parents.
And about Buddhism and abortion, yes, as in many faiths, it is seen as murder. A bad deed. An act that cannot be undone by merrit making in the temple, although this female monk indicates that many Thais wrongly think that it works that way. But Thailand experts now know that the Thai interpretation of Buddhism has a lot of influence from, among other things, animism. Here is an interview with this monk about abortion:
https://prachatai.com/english/node/3627
Note: Last February, the Supreme Court overturned the law banning abortion.
Fortunately, the woman who wrote the BP piece was treated with respect, but unfortunately there are also taboos and even disapproval from doctors.
About the taboos, an article from a year ago:
“It's a large number, but abortion still remains a huge taboo in the country, and society is ready to demonize any woman who undergoes it. (..)
“So many women that contact us to ask about options ask if they would be murderers, if they'd be able to have kids again after the procedure, or whether they'll be haunted by ghost babies,” she says.
“They're scared out of their minds, but at the same time they're desperate. Some women tell me they don't care if they die, they just can't continue their pregnancy.”
This distress comes from the fact that these beliefs—that women are as good as murderers when they opt for abortion—are ingrained in the minds of most Thai women because it's what they've been taught their entire lives, explains Supeecha. (…)
Moralistic judgments and prejudice against abortion bleeds into the medical and academic world too, throwing up more barriers to abortion services in Thailand.(…)”
That makes it doubly difficult, the decision itself and possibly the confrontation with medical staff who look down on you. For example, a doctor says that at first he was also against abortion, which was something for stupid women from bad backgrounds, until a female colleague ended up on the operating table bleeding profusely. Then the penny dropped that you are not a stupid or bad person at all if you resort to abortion.
See: https://newnaratif.com/journalism/taboos-that-kill-stigma-and-abortion-in-thailand/share/qnhthfgva/a0c715430586b6b4aeb16fbdfa1740cc
You may also wonder why a 39-year-old woman with 2 children aged 10 and 14 does not undergo sterilization and is at risk of becoming pregnant unintentionally.
A small intervention and if I'm not misinformed cheap and a few years ago even free.
Sterilizing a man is easier and probably even cheaper.
Because she might still want a child, I think. Respect another. So many reasons to want a child at a later age, let's not impose the Chinese constraint. In addition, the population of Thailand is aging rapidly and the number of births is falling sharply. For all the women with 2 or more children, there are many with no or only 1 child, another reason why the birth rate is declining.
In the interview, she says that she is unintentionally pregnant. I'm really sorry but in 2020 that should not happen to a woman with 2 children.