http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/health/83-of-customers-to-abortion-clinics-in-indonesia-are-married-study/562539?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=jgnewsletter
83% of Customers to Abortion Clinics in Indonesia are Married: Study December 19, 2012 A new study has revealed that 83 percent of customers to abortion clinics across Indonesia are married women. (JG Photo/Jurnasyanto Sukarno) Married women make up the majority of customers to abortion clinics in Indonesia, according to the Indonesian Family Planning Association. The organization, known as PKBI, said on Tuesday that of the 32,517 women who had abortions from one of 13 clinics in 11 provinces between 2008-2011, 83 percent were married. Only 8 percent of them were students or teenagers. The total number of abortion patients across the 13 clinics rose from 31, 697 in the 2004-2007 period. “Most people associate abortions with teenagers as they accuse them of engaging frequently in free sex. But our study found that this perception is likely mistaken,” PKBI researcher Arsi Suarsi said as she presented the results of the study in Jakarta, according to Indonesian news portal detik.com. Arsi added that 54 percent of the married women said they had an abortion because they already had enough children, mostly two. Other married women cited their age, either being too young or too old, as the reason behind their abortion. Half of the clinics’ customers worked, 42 percent of them didn't and 8 percent were students. Arsi said that unmarried women had abortions because they were ashamed of being pregnant without a husband or because they were afraid of their parents reaction. Abortions are against the law in Indonesia, according to the 2009 Law on Health, which makes all 13 clinics illegal. The law only exempts abortions for emergency medical situations including if a mother's life is being threatened with pregnancy or for rape victims who are suffering from psychological trauma. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
