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Residents question police probe into established Cikini abortion clinics
When the police started investigating a number of abortion clinics in Cikini, Central Jakarta, the immediate question from local residents was: “Why only now?”
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One of the abortion clinic rooms on Jl. Cimandiri, Cikini, Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday. The police raided the clinic last week. (kompas.com/Alsadad Rudi )
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hen the police started investigating a number of abortion clinics in Cikini, Central Jakarta, the immediate question from local residents was: “Why only now?” as they had known about the clinics for a long time.
“I am not surprised. Most of residents here know that those clinics are operating. The middlemen [who liaise between patients and doctors] live in the area,” said Hendi, a resident of Jl. Cisadane 19, whose house is located in front of one of the clinics, as reported by tribunnews.com on Thursday.
Hendi, who has been living in the area since 40 years ago, said that he had noted at least 10 abortion clinics operating in his neighborhood, including some that had been in operation for a decade.
So far the police have investigated nine abortion clinics, including those located on Jl. Cimandiri No. 7 and Jl. Cisadane No. 19.
“That clinic has been in business for more than 10 years. It's crazy, to think how many lives have been ended there. It could be thousands,” Hendi said, while pointing at the house.
He said the abortion clinic on Jl. Cisadane 19 was busy in the evening and most of the patients arrived in cars. “Most patients are young women. There are patients who come with their mothers and there are those who come with men of approximately the same age as them,” he added.
He explained there were groups of people, who offered services connecting patients with clinics. The men who stand by along Jl. Raden Saleh in Cikini approach slow-moving cars that are believed to be people seeking abortion services. Other middlemen just give a signal by waving their hands.
Head of Jakarta City Police’s specific crime division Adj. Sr. Comr. Adi Vivid said that before raiding the nine abortion clinics on Jl. Raden Saleh, the police had conducted a month-long undercover operation in which two female police officers acted as patients and visited clinics and talked with middlemen.
Evidence confiscated during the raids included abortion equipment, human bones found dumped in drains near the clinics and blood inside plastic bags, said a police officer, adding that ten suspects had been arrested, including clinic owners, doctors, nurses, middlemen and those given the responsibility of disposing of fetuses.
Adi explained that the middlemen, whose role was to attract clients, could earn up to 40 percent of the total cost of an abortion, which reportedly ranges from Rp 3 million (US$223.66) to Rp 6 million.
Hendi said he appreciated the police investigation into the abortion clinics because he believed that abortion was prohibited by all religion.
But he also expressed his pessimism that the police would consistently monitor the abortion clinics, saying that it was unlikely the police only recently found out about the clinics as they had been there for years. (bbn)
