Unwanted Pregnancy

[Appert]

Hi there,

I, or rather, my friend, has a problem. She became pregnant because of an 'accident' and is considering to take it out. However this seems to be a lot trickier than in Europe and the families here don't really agree on these kind of decisions.

My question, to keep it short that is: Where do we need to go to get medicines/counseling/abortion? We live around the location of Bangkok/Pattaya.

I would be very pleased with any help.

P.S. The pregnancy is already 7-8 weeks.

[Sheryl]

In the pinned notice section at the top of this Health forum there is information about abortion: what the Thai law is and suggested places to go for legal abortion services.

Unfortunately, though, to my knowledge the counselling aspect -- especially what we call "decision counselling" for cases where the woman or couple is unsure about whether an abortion is necessary or they could sustain the pregnancy - is weak to non-existant, even at the resources listed. Feeddback I have heard is that they simply verify the woman is sure of her decision, they don't have the staff or time to counsel her in making it.

For counselling, best to go to one of the4 resources listed in the pinned notice on Mental health

. In Bangkok, NCS or PSI; in Pattaya, Carl Janowitz (see thsi pinned notice for all details).

She should not delay. Her pregnancy is already advanced enough that it may soon not be possible to do in an outpatient clinic setting. I don't know what cut-off the PDA clinics in Thailand use but it may be as low as 10 weeks.

Should she end up in a situation where PDA says she is too far along, as long as she is still under 12 weeks Cambodia is an option. While Cambodian health facilities in general are very sub-standard there are clinics there supported by Marie Stopes International (MSI, a UK NGO) which have a high standard of care. Abortion is legal on demand in Cambodia up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. These MSI clinics do offer "decision counselling" but by Cambodians, in Khmer. In case of foreigners getting abortion they arrange for one of their expat staff to be present but those individuals, while often doctors or nurses, are not trained counsellors, they'd be there just to provide reassurance and ensure no communication barrier.

AFAIK for counselling to help her decide if she requires an abortion the best options are in Thailand as listed in the mental health resource thread.