3.3.2. Health Providers have Negative Attitudes towards Abortion

Although abortion is legal in Malaysia, the prevalent negative perception of termination of pregnancies has led to the widespread belief that it is illegal, even among healthcare providers. Many healthcare providers view contraception and abortion as sensitive topics and opt not to be part of the network of private healthcare providers offering safe abortion services. This participant explained that the opposition towards abortion is related to cultural norms, as the abortion laws in Malaysia are fairly liberal.

*"All of them who are at the top level [government] say: 'Oh, yeah, we have to recognise the law.' The law in Malaysia is almost identical to the English law on abortion. So, what happens on the ground, seems to be not so much an o*ffi*cial policy, but all 'cultural opposition' to make reproductive health and particularly contraception accessible to single women, and to make safe abortion accessible to women in general." MD-9 PRIVATE GP*

Abortions are rarely conducted at public healthcare facilities. While a selected number of private clinics provide safe abortions, these options are expensive and maybe unaffordable for low-wage migrant workers. Thus, migrant women may opt to perform illegal, self-induced abortions, which are likely to be unsafe. Medical practitioners interviewed informed that migrant women do present at the emergency departments of public hospitals with complications of unsafe abortions.

*"I have never seen any migrants coming to us for abortions [at public clinics]. They do it by themselves–self-induced. They have their own traditional ways of doing it, you know, by drinking vinegar and certain traditional medication, or they will try to induce trauma to the stomach! So, when they do present to us, it is already–not there [pregnancy terminated]. So, we had to refer them to the [public] hospital for a D&C [Dilation and Curettage]. Curettage is to clear o*ff *whatever is left behind." MD-13 PUBLIC CLINIC*
