Let me make one thing clear: I don't run around blindly saying that abortions should be legal at all costs. It's just that, as a 10-year-old girl I came up to my mom once and asked: "If a 13-year-old girl was raped by a school janitor and got pregnant, wouldn't it be very urgent to terminate her pregnancy? At least, to save her sanity?"
As my mom stood there gaping, I saw the answer dawning in her eyes: yes, her answer was yes.
And isn't it supposed to be it? To be yes?
If you terminate your pregnancy because you have been irresponsible, or you can't bear the responsibilities that will surely come with a new-life you bring, then I guess the guilty feeling will haunt you right to your deathbed. But nobody in her right mind will let a rape victim live face to face with a creature forced into her womb via a very degrading, inhumane crime. Isn't it as crystal-clear as the mind of a 10-year-old child who thinks all bad people will go to jail and all good people will succeed in life?
So when I read recently that MUI had stipulated abortion as legal, I was torn between surprise and excitement. Further down with my reading, though, I was left with a bitter taste in my mouth.
The stipulation said abortion was legal if it was done within the first 40 days of pregnancy. That leaves a woman with only 10 days to make her decision: when you are 10 days late, you are already roughly 38 to 40 days pregnant. If you aren't as regular as a clockwork, I'd say missing that 10-days timeframe is as easy as missing the next bus home.
The legal reasons for abortion, the stipulation said, were rapes, incests, and genetic-related diseases. Whoa. Genetic-related diseases can't be detected within the first 40 days of pregnancy. Tests for that purpose can only be done when you are 4 months along.
But that's not all. The one that really threw me to the wall was this: a rape victim must have a recommendation letter from her family, a doctor, AND an ulama, stating that indeed she is a rape victim, to be able to have a legal abortion. As if the crime itself isn't humiliating enough....must she really degrade herself further by begging that goddam recommendation letter from practically everybody around her? Must a woman always let other people make decisions for her? By God, she has her own mind!
I can just picture it: the clinics which practice illegal abortions are unsafe. The clinic which practice legal ones will demand recommendation letters. Who, if I might ask, will be the ones to pay the real price here? For every single mispronounced word in the world, it seems to me, women will have to pay the consequence.
Oh how I picture it: the advanced female ulamas in MUI fought hard to bring about the 'fatwa aborsi legal', battling with cynical male ulamas, and finally could only come up with this insufficient stipulation. How hurtful it is to see a slap disguised as a help.
I don't know where women have to turn, even counting on fellow females often proves to be fruitless. Because it is a men's world still: men with blackties, and men with lipsticks and stilletos too.
On a more general term, legal-abortion aside, I hope I'll be forever out of the circumstances where I have to let others meddling with my life. Where I have to make others make the decisions for my life. Where, alas, I have to put my life into somebody else's palm.
It is a hard life, but it is my own, and I am more than willing to pull through its end without begging for a recommendation letter from anyone.
The 40 days limit is quite interesting. Although I do agree that the halal period for this rape victims to have the abortion is very ridiculously short, may be, just may be they depart from an argument that until certain days, this “thing” on the woman’s womb is still considered lifeless until after the 40th day when it receives this breath of life from heaven. Have you heard of it? Something like that, lah pokoknya and surely it doesn’t sound that foolish:..:-)
ReplyDeleteSo if the abortion is done after that, it may be like killing an innocent human being? So enough of one act of evil ,why respond with another one kind of thinking?
Of course, if they did base their decision on that alone they failed to consider the technological obstacle ( discovery of genetic related disease) and psychological aspect ( recommendation letters) that you mentioned. I am sure they have scientists and women ( or women scientists..hehehhe) in there who would object to this based on the very facts you mentioned but how come they missed it??
By the way, where did you read this abortion fatwa? I read about these 11 fatwas on the papers that MUI recently released (pluralism, inter-religion marriage etc) but I don’t remember reading about abortion. I am interested to read about the whole thing
*at PEACE with my FOOLishness*
heavy issues. when it comes to religion, i have to agree with the MUI, providing they have strong ground in issuing the fatwa.
ReplyDeleteit's interpretation and to be able to argue that you need to base your arguments using religious references. otherwise, it's pointless because the MUI use faith's references as grounds. like it or not, if we don't have any proper religious argument, we have to accept that religious grounds coming from those who know better.
but, we, as human, don't always live by the rules of religion, do we? even if we do, we break them from time to time. and it is something that we need to be responsible to, the law-breakings we make.
as for me, i make my own choice. i will break the law if i have to. and i'll redeem it by the good deeds i do. hopefully.
Well, if I may comment on the comment made by this guy, don't you think there is a danger in cherry-picking when it comes to practising your religion/belief?
ReplyDeleteI may not pray 5 times a day, but at least I am good with my parents, I kill but I kill for a good cause, I may be promiscuous and fuck around but at least I earn an honest living and am generous to those who are less fortunate?
Arguing on the fact that since we humans are born to be weak and not immune to temptations, therefore we can at times break the law, is I think against the idea of totality that is required by our religious teachings. I mean, some of these sins are said to be unreedemable and unforgiven, why bother to do good deeds if the good deeds will never be enough to negate the MEGA sins?
To Anonymous:
ReplyDelete(1)Yes, the 40 days limit derives from the argument (? A Quran verse) that states a lifeless lump of flesh and blood becomes alive after 40 days in the womb.
(2)Scientist and women????? Gak ada ya perempuan yg scientist? *emosi jiwa* huh untung udah lo koreksi! Hihihihiw...
(3)This is not a fatwa yet. My mistake. It's a recommendation. Arrghh,the word 'recommendation' gives me goosebumps. Abortion is still illegal in Indonesia I think, it's not even in the RUU (cmiiw)
(4)I'll forward you the article. In the meantime, I suggest that you use the morning-after pill heheh. It's effective to halt conception up to 72 hours after errr...after the contact. I'm sure you know about these pills anyway. I think using it can't be considered doing abortion, right?
To Rio:
ReplyDeleteI can see your point: you are saying that I use a ruler to measure an apple, and they use a scale to weigh the same apple. So out of the same object, MUI & I get different dimensions, since we use different measurement tools, right? *blushing hard* You are correct on this. Thank you for the enlightening input.
But I oppose the notion that I (having no perfect religious understanding) mustn't interpret religious text by myself, and must always go with the interpretations of the more knowledgeable ulamas. I actually posted something on this very notion last year, titled "Tuhan Yang Mana", to discuss (among others) whether wearing jilbab is a must. I always think everybody with the slightest of brains is allowed to read the religious text and make her own interpretation. Heheheh please don't tell this to that "badai ustad" you posted about once. Ga jauh2, ntar gue dibilang sesat ama dia. Dan disuruh kawin. Hehheheheheheh
To Koconegoro:
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, not praying 5x a day, sleeping around and murder are all forgivable. So do not despair.. :D
Seriously, that is one much-needed oasis. If my sins aren't forgivable, I'd do whatever I please here on earth, without ever thinking of doing any good deeds, cos I'll end up in hell anyway. Eh! That sounds so fatalistic (like you :D) , while in fact I'm trying not to. Heheh.
Really???! I thought, even drinking a glass of alcoholic substance guarantees you 40 years of abomination and condemnation? I am no drinker but I am sure I have drunk about 200 to 250 years in alcoholic terms:-) My last good deed was I think paying the gasoline bill that should have been paid by my sister. Can that compensate..?? hehehehe...
ReplyDeleteAmpuun pak Ustaddd....
To Anonymous again:
ReplyDeleteHaduh! It's a fatwa allright! I hate correcting myself twice :D It's Fatwa No. 4 Thn. 2005. Go to www.mui.or.id --> fatwa --> bagian 3 masalah sosial kemasyarakatan --> aborsi. Enjoy! :D
To Koconegoro again: ahhhh..250 years only? Reallyyyy??? Lying is a sin also lhooo...Heheheheheu