Appropriate Legal Measures for Abortion

Abstract

This study has the objective to find out the optimal legal measures that conform to the abortion circumstance in Thailand through the collection and review of secondary data, literatures, academic documents and articles, as well as related researches.

The study results revealed that (1) the problem of abortion arose from unwanted pregnancy which caused by inequality in sexual values among men and women, social attitude towards unmarried pregnancy, lack of comprehensiveness in reproductive systems and birth control, pre-marital pregnancy, forced pregnancy from sexual assault, maternal health problem and fetal abnormality, as well as socio-economics problem, and (2)  when women experiencing unwanted pregnancy, abortion is not their first option but what they seek most is health care services such as prenatal care, temporary shelter, postpartum care, and child rearing. Second-most important is pregnancy counseling through educating, legal issue, family planning, social acceptance, and child support such as financial, educational funding, temporary day care service, as well as adoption consideration. Despite legal abortion, women experiencing unintended pregnancy will not choose to undergo such process if their support is guaranteed and assured that once a child is delivered, both mother and baby gain social acceptance and dignity is maintained.

Thus, the researcher has provided recommendation in developing a guidance to prevent illegal abortion through forming a legal measures concerning lawful counseling by qualified professionals to guaranteed that women have access to accurate information so that the mother can make well-informed decisions about their unwanted pregnancies without receiving overwhelming negative effect and social judgment but the society itself will help establish an remedial measures on abortion issues to ensure women experiencing unintended pregnancies receive appropriate aid to deliver and raise their children to progress with their lives and providing child support allowing them to develop and grow gracefully.