Since I started working in forensic pathology on 2012, there are a lot of 'first time'-s that I could not forget. One of them is having my first infanticide case. According to Indonesian law, infanticide means "A mother who for the execution of a decision driven by fear of the discovery of her forthcoming confinement, takes the life of her chidl at or soon after its birth." The penalty is seven years in prison, and nine years in prison of it is proven that she has deliberate intent. Working in a big city such as Jakarta, had a remains of a baby delivered to the morgue is somehow common thing to happen. Most of them remained cold case, but some were discovered as well.
There is one discovered case that I would not forget. It was when I got a case of a baby boy, covered in batik cloths and the mother of the child had been caught. She was a student in health care related faculty, aged less than twenty years old and she took an 'abortion pill' she found at the internet. I got to examined both of them. The baby died due to asphyxia, there was a signs of smothering found and the mother admitted that she smothered her unwanted baby as soon as he was born by clamping her hands on his face. Police told me that she told her friend to bury the baby at public cemetery, but the administration office demands official letters (certificate of death from the hospital). They only got feeble excuse, so the administration got suspicious and reported them.
When I met the mother, I realized that we known each other. She was one of my students when I got a teaching job. She didn't dare to look me in the eye, lowering her bloodshot eyes. She was obviously been crying a lot. I decided not to say anything unecessary, only explaining the procedure needed. The signs of the pregnancy and birth on her was obvious. How did she hide the pregnancy? She was a bit of a big girl, and she wore loose clothings. None of her friends suspect anything. When she told the guy who was responsible for her pregnancy (her boyfriend), he told some of his friends to find the abortion pill. Thus, the abortion happened.
I know that the constitution regarding reproduction health only allows abortion on some condition such as emergency situation that theratens the safety of the mother and rape that could cause trauma to the mother. And it could only be done of the age of the pregnancy was less than fourty days. Speaking about abortion outside that constitution would cause lengthy debate whether it should be legalized or not. I don't want to talk about pro life and pro choice ... but instead why do this kind of thing still happens? Why do I get at least three to four abortion / infanticide cases each months?
The mother of the baby, for example ... she's studying in health care related faculty, already at the legal age to do consensual sexual intercourse, she knew the risks and consequences and yet ... this still happened. What happened to those who do not know about these things? I understand that for some people, sex education still considered taboo and somehow means 'teaching people to perform adultery', thus ... some people are afraid to discuss it. They prefer finding informations by themselves on the internet and believe me, there are tons of misleading informations on the internet.
The mother of the baby told me, "I found the pill seller on social media. He guaranteed that it's safe. All I need to do is drink a couple and it will finished."
he police show me the advertisement and I read the 'menstruation pills'. One of the testimonial terrifyingly said : I did not get my period on two months and felt bloated, but after I took a couple of these pills... I instatly got my period. It's like cleansing! Lots of blood and clotts.
I need to take a couple of deep breaths after I read it, the abscence of menstruation could be caused by a lot of factors, pregnancy, hormones instability, nutrition issues, even malignancy on the reproduction organs. Second of all, taking pills to end pregnancy is not the same as constipation where we can just take mild laxative and problem solved! There are a lot of dangerous consequences regarding unsafe abortion. Massive bleeding, shock and infections were only some of the consequences. For example, if a woman takes a pill that causes contractions, even if there is a small part of the products left in her womb, the uterus will continue to do contractions as the body's response to alien objects, she could got shock due to the massive pain or bleeding.
Third of all, the psychological impacts. Baby is different from having a tumor removed from our body. There's always attachment involved between the mother and the child. That's why the constitution regarding abortion also invloves 'psychological and spiritual guidance' during the abortion. If the psychological problems aren't treated properly, they could lead to mental illness.
Those are some of the reasons why I think sex education is more than necessary these days. We need more than 'the bird and the bees' story nowadays. It should be given according to age and the risks. For example, teenagers should know about how to maintain reproduction health and body awareness. Older people (at the legal age) should know about safe sexual behavior, as well as consensual sexual intercourse and its consequences. Non-consensual sexual intercourse and statutory rape should be known by everyone and everyone should know where to seek help. The last thing we want is another thread in social media, about a victim of a date rape who is too afraid to seek help or another baby remains delivered to the forensic department, with their mothers somewhere dealing with the physical and psychological impacts.
