Abortion In Bhutan versus Abortion In Bangalore India
Abortion Laws in Bhutan
Currently it is illegal to have an abortion in Bhutan except in selected cases, such as for the health or mental welfare of the mother or in the case of rape.
However, the recent prevalence and media focus on the complications following unsafe abortions have caused the government to begin rethinking their position. Many lawmakers are now opening the issue up for debate with some arguing that abortion in Bhutan should be legal.
Lawmakers are now debating the best way to combat the issues of unsafe abortion. While most of the unsafe abortions take place just over the border, the women return home to be rushed to area hospitals.
Some lawmakers argue that the issue is not legalizing abortion but rather to increase family planning education and access to contraceptives. Others believe that legalizing abortion is the only way to decrease the maternal mortality rate in Bhutan.
Unsafe Abortions in Bhutan
Those in need of an abortion in Bhutan but do not fit the required circumstances often find themselves going across the border to ramshackle abortion clinics. The conditions in these clinics are deplorable and those performing the abortions rarely have any idea of what they are doing.
One woman who reported having an abortion at one of these clinics stated that they have no pain killers and they simply reach into the woman and pull out the fetus by hand. She described the pain as unbearable.
These women who are trying to avoid having a child, end up having severe complications due to the manner in which these abortions are performed. Most of the women who enter these abortion clinics end up with some sort of internal injuries.
Many of the hospitals in Bhutan who end up treating the women post-abortion find that there are still parts of the fetus within the woman that led to severe infection. Other cases report that the woman has severe internal tearing that threatened her life.
Hospitals along the border in Bhutan report hundreds of these cases each year, however there are few indictments against the women because they always have another excuse for the injuries.
These unsafe abortions in Bhutan lead to the deaths of hundreds of women each year. These women not only risk their lives but they pay the steep price of Nu. 9000 for the procedure.
There is no reason why a woman should pay such a high price for a procedure that will likely send her to the hospital with severe consequences.
There is a safe alternative for women who are in desperate need of an abortion. They do not need to needlessly risk their lives or their freedom to have an abortion. There are safe, legal and confidential alternatives for abortion in Bangalore India.
