by Mathias Hariyadi

Parliament approves health reform bill that would allow abortion within six weeks of pregnancy. President Yudhoyono has to sign the bill into law before it comes into effect. Inter-faith movement calls for its cancellation, saying it is “morally wrong.”

Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Muslims, Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, Hindus, Confucians and women activists have joined forces to oppose a law that legalises abortion.  The Indonesian parliament has just passed a health reform bill that would extend the grounds for terminating pregnancies. The president must now sign the bill before it becomes law, but a broad popular campaign is now underway to have it cancelled.

At a press conference organised yesterday afternoon at the headquarters of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI) in Jakarta, religious leaders and anti-abortion NGOs slammed the new legislation  authorising abortion for being “morally defective” and “morally wrong” as well as contrary to “every religious belief that respects human life from conception.”

This year’s health reform bill was approved by parliament on 14 September in the last days of the preceding legislature. A new parliament took office on 1 October, and confirmed President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in office. He now has to ratify the law.

Article 85 (1) is one of the most controversial points of the bill. It says, “Abortion is lawful if it is performed within six weeks from the time a pregnant woman’s monthly menstruation ends.”

Article 84 (1) bans abortion, except when the pregnancy endangers the life of the mother and the child.

“I reject any proposal that includes induced abortion,” said Fr Sigid Pramudji Pr, secretary general of the Bishops’ Conference of Indonesia (KWI), except for some “urgent health reason” to “save the life” of the mother.

MUI chief Ma’ruf Amin agrees. The inter-faith conference will launch an appeal before the Indonesian Supreme Court, he said.

“Abortion can only be done only if foetus is less than 40 days and only if some urgent medical situation needs this particular treatment,” he explained.

Protestants, Buddhists, Hindus Confucians and women’s movements have joined the appeal for life made by Catholics and Muslims.

According to the inter-faith conference, Article 75 of the health reform bill outlaws abortion altogether, intimating that no one can have an abortion under any circumstances.

• indonesia
• abortion
• life
• human
• rights
• pregnancy
• catholics
• muslims
• hindus
• buddhists
• confucius
• women