The advertisements are easy to find on websites and blogs. Just type “aborsi, tempat, Jakarta” in any search engine and you will find a dozen contact numbers for abortion services.

Those numbers will lead you to private health clinics. You will talk to a nice, friendly guy who will provide you with information. But, you have to convince him you really need help. The service is illegal and the people on the phone are usually very careful.

If you pass this phase you can ask about costs. You can also select a male or female doctor and a convenient time.

The service includes a pick up at an arranged meeting point by a middleman, usually a tukang ojek, who will take you to an undisclosed location (they don’t give you a specific address for security reasons).

Another way to obtain an abortion is by walking along Jl. Raden Saleh in Jakarta. The middlemen recognize their targets. Usually the couples look pale and confused. The man will approach and ask “Do you want to get rid of that?”

If the couple says yes, the middleman will take them to get an abortion.

The price for an illegal abortion is quite high and depends on how far along in the pregnancy the woman is. The cost is between Rp 2.5 million (US$260) and Rp 3.8 million for a pregnancy several weeks along, but for those more than three months pregnant the fee can be more than Rp 8 million, which is negotiable.

The price includes the middleman fees, medicine, the space for the procedure, and, of course, a doctor.

“The process will take around 30 minutes, you can rest for awhile and you are ready to go home,” one man told The Jakarta Post over the phone.

“We have done procedures for many women, mostly nearby working women. They come during their lunch break and have the procedure. Then they go back to the office after that,” he said.

National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) data reveals that the number of abortions in the country has increased by 15 percent annually. The agency estimates there were 2.4 million abortions in Indonesia in 2012, about 800,000 of those women were teenagers.

United Nations data says that adolescent girls aged between 10 and 19 account for at least 2.2 to 4 million unsafe abortions in developing countries. Young women under the age of 25 account for almost half of all abortion deaths.

Twenty-one-year-old Dela (not her real name) told the Post she wanted an abortion because she was afraid of her parents.

“I am confused and I am not ready to have this baby,” she said.

Dela had an abortion at a midwife’s clinic in South Jakarta. She got the information about the clinic from a friend who had the same procedure there. Dela stayed one night at the clinic and told her mother that she spent the night with a friend.

“The clinic is far from my house so I felt secure. The procedure was performed by a doctor who came to the clinic in the middle of the night,” Dela said, adding that she paid Rp 1.6 million for the abortion she received in the second month of pregnancy.

“I got the cheapest price here. Previously a few clinics ask me to ready around Rp 4 million,” she said.

But Dela is only one example of the many young, unmarried women obtaining abortions in Indonesia. In fact, the number of married women who seek abortions is even higher.

In the middle: Jl. Raden Saleh in Jakarta is known as a meeting point for those seeking illegal abortions in the capital.(JP/Ricky Yudhistira)
The Indonesia Planning Association (PKBI) says only 16 percent of the women receiving abortions were unmarried, while the bigger chunk, 83 percent, were married.

The PKBI research was done between 2008 and 2011 at 11 health clinics.

Maria Ulfa Anshor from the Indonesian Commission on Child Protection (KPAI) told the Post that abortion among married women is usually due to contraception failure and the fact that they do not want any more children.

Sundari, a midwife in Lenteng Agung, South Jakarta, said she often finds her patients have fallen pregnant even though they are on the pill. Those women then come to her clinic and ask what they should do.

“Usually I ask them to keep the baby. But if they want their pregnancy aborted, I usually recommend they go to Rumah Sakit Cipto Mangunkusumo [RSCM] for a legal procedure,” Sundari said.

Sundari said married women must bring their birth certificate and arrive at RSCM with their husbands. The cost of a legal abortion depends on how far along the woman is.

“The doctor will not do the procedure all at once. The hospital staff will hold some kind of counseling session for the couple to keep the pregnancy,” she said.

She refused to comment on illegal abortions done by midwives or doctors who charge expensive fees.

“No, I don’t perform them. It is illegal and sinful,” she said.

Although the number of abortions seems to be increasing every year and abortions are easier to obtain, Maria Ulfa of KPAI acknowledged that the actual number of abortions in Indonesia is difficult to determine.

Those performing illegal abortions continue even though the punishments are quite severe.

Based on Law No. 23/2002 on child protection, those who perform abortions will receive a maximum punishment of 15 years’ imprisonment.   

Law No. 36/2009 on health also forbids abortion and says perpetrators will receive a maximum punishment of 10 years’ imprisonment or a Rp 1 billion fine.

Based on the Health Law, in some cases like pregnancy caused by rape or an unhealthy pregnancy, abortions are allowed. But Maria Ulfa suggests the government should make the exceptions very clear. She believes the exceptions have created leeway for those performing illegal abortions.

“I suggest the government issue an additional regulation on abortion so it will guide doctors, practitioners and the public,” she said.