KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 – A six months pregnant woman allegedly ingested 20 abortion pills in Kudat.
The woman, who is in her 20s, was in a hotel room when she swallowed the pills and inserted some into her private parts. The following afternoon, the foetus was expelled but the placenta was stuck inside her.
The woman was left with no choice but to inform hotel staff, who then alerted the authorities.
The foetus was pronounced dead upon arrival at the Kudat Hospital.
“She is stable and will be investigated under Section 315 of the Penal Code,” Kudat police chief Supt Mohd Firdaus Francis Abdullah said.
Section 315 of the Penal Code speaks of an act done with intent to prevent a child being born alive or to cause it to die after birth.
A wrongdoer under this section can be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years or with fine or with both.
Previously, DAP lawmakers called for actions on the illegal sale of abortion pills online.
“Mifepristone is a medicine used to abort the foetus. It is not registered in Malaysia, so its sale is prohibited at any clinics and pharmacies,” Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto was quoted saying.
“There are people, probably including doctors, who obtain them through suspicious sources and sell them anyway. They can also easily be obtained through websites which have no accreditation.”
She reportedly said other abortion pills like misoprostol were also sold online. The pills reportedly cost from RM400 to RM630.