KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 — The Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy has corrected Lim Hui Ying’s claim earlier today that abortion and clinics providing the service were prohibited in Malaysia.
Galen Centre chief executive Azrul Mohd Khalib told the women, family and community development deputy minister, who made the incorrect statement in the Dewan Rakyat during the Ministers’ Oral Answers session, that Lim’s response contributed to misinformation and stigma surrounding unintended pregnancies.
“Too many people in Malaysia still wrongly believe that abortion is illegal. Malaysian law allows registered medical practitioners to provide termination of pregnancy under specific legal and clinical conditions,” said Azrul in a statement today.
“Under Section 312 of the Penal Code, termination of pregnancy may be lawfully performed by a registered medical practitioner when, in good faith, the doctor is of the opinion that continuing the pregnancy would involve risk to the life of the pregnant woman, or injury to her mental or physical health, greater than if the pregnancy were terminated.
“This legal position must be clearly understood by the public, health care professionals, regulators, hospitals, private clinics and law enforcement agencies. Terminating a pregnancy in Malaysia is legal and highly regulated. Even the medications needed for medical abortion, mifepristone and misoprostol, are currently unavailable legally in this country.”
Azrul said misinformation prevents women and girls from seeking timely medical advice, discourages health care providers from offering lawful care, and pushes people facing unintended pregnancies towards risky, unsafe, clandestine and unregulated options.
“It also intimidates health care providers and undermines their clinical judgement from doing what the law actually permits,” he added.
Azrul pointed out that the World Health Organization (WHO) recognises abortion as a common health intervention and states that it is very safe when carried out using recommended methods, appropriate to pregnancy duration, and by someone with the necessary skills.
WHO also lists mifepristone and misoprostol on the Essential Medicines List (EML). Medical abortions are considered safe and effective.
“WHO also warns that barriers to safe, timely, affordable and respectful abortion care can push women and girls towards unsafe abortion. This could result in serious injury, disability, and premature death,” said Azrul.
“Health care providers must not turn away women by claiming that abortion is illegal in all circumstances. They have a duty of care to provide accurate information, assess patients properly, respect confidentiality, offer appropriate referrals, and ensure that women receive post-abortion care without judgement or threat of punishment.”
Citing statistics from the National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN), an agency under the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM), Azrul said the unmet need for family planning in Malaysia was about 26.7 per cent in 2022, one of the highest rates among Asean countries.
Contraceptive prevalence among women of reproductive age remained low at 42.8 per cent, and modern contraceptive use was only 34.5 per cent. A third of pregnancies in Malaysia are unplanned.
“These numbers show that many women and girls are not getting the information, services and contraceptive options they need to plan pregnancies safely and with dignity,” said Azrul.
“When one in three pregnancies is unplanned, the answer cannot be stigma, silence, judgement, or punishment. The answer must be better access to contraception, accurate and comprehensive age-appropriate sex education, confidential counselling, reproductive health services, affordable family planning, and safe, legal, non-judgmental medical care when women and girls seek help.”
