How the grisly discovery of a ‘foetus mortuary’ re-shaped Thailand’s abortion laws

The stench revealed the grisly secret. Wafting through the temple in southern Bangkok, the terrible smell led to the mortuary – and the grim discovery of more than 2,000 foetuses, wrapped in plastic bags and at various stages of decomposition.

The hidden remains were awaiting cremation, the final stage in an underground abortion network in Thailand’s capital. But a broken furnace disrupted the process for months, possibly longer, until the smell grew so potent it was impossible to hide.

The discovery of the “foetus mortuary” shocked the predominantly Buddhist country, and forced Thai society to debate a topic more commonly brushed aside. At the time, in 2010, strict laws meant access to abortion was extremely restricted – the medical procedure was available only in specific circumstances, such as rape.

But following the discovery of 2,000 foetuses, Thailand could no longer ignore the fact that women were regularly risking their lives to undergo unsafe abortions. Suddenly, the issue was splashed across front pages and evening news broadcasts.

It was amid this heated debate that a Buddhist monk felt compelled to speak for the first time. Writing in The Nation newspaper, Phra Shine Waradhammo argued that women who had abortions were being “suppressed by religious teachings”.

“Normally monks don’t really talk about abortion, many would say it is a sin,” Phra Shine says now, surrounded by orange robes in his temple lodgings on the outskirts of Bangkok.

“I think this is based on a one-dimensional interpretation of Buddhism … So I wrote the piece to question the status quo, to make people think.”

But while Thailand’s abortion legislation has shifted – for now, at least – entrenched attitudes are still obstructing access.

Abortion a ‘two-tiered system’

It is now four years since the nation’s high court struck down an abortion ban as unconstitutional, decriminalising the procedure. An amendment later allowed abortions to be carried out up to 20 weeks into a pregnancy.

Yet affordable, safe and convenient services are limited – even in the Thai capital.

According to a recent report by the pro-choice activist group TamTang, none of the 22 public hospitals in Bangkok provide subsidised abortions.

“There’s a lot of stigma,” says TamTang’s Chonthita Krisrikul, at a recent parliamentary event to mark the fourth anniversary of legalisation.

“This year we met with the department of health under the Bangkok administration [which runs the public hospitals], and the doctors said that abortion is not necessary – that ‘it’s like having a nose job’. They basically said: ‘if you want an abortion, pay for it yourself’.”

As a result, a two-tiered system has emerged – only those able to travel hours out of the city to hospitals providing subsidised procedures, or with the money to pay for private care, are able to access services.

But the issue is not confined to Bangkok: according to government figures, hospitals in just 39 of Thailand’s 77 provinces have officially registered as abortion providers.

“[The price in the private sector] starts at 5,000 baht [£110], which is around 15 times the minimum wage per day,” says Ms Krisrikul. “So it’s almost impossible for women with a low income to access the private hospital.

“Many instead go to uncertified shops on the internet that sell the abortion pills, effectively on the black market. Often, the pills aren’t even effective.”

And there are some concerns that even this access could be undone. Last week, a health minister linked abortion rates to concerns about Thailand’s falling birth rates – and suggested “amending existing laws or drafting new laws” to reduce terminations.

“We all know that the law or restriction will not decrease the numbers of abortion but only increase the number of unsafe abortion,” says TamTang’s founder, Supecha Baotip.

She adds that abortion-related fatalities have fallen since Thailand legalised the medical procedure, but “with this initiative of the Ministry of Health, we might have to prepare ourselves to [regularly report] that kind of news again.”

Much of the stigma and the difficulty accessing services still stems from religion, as with Christianity in countries like the US and the Philippines, or Islam in Indonesia.

At least 90 per cent of Thailand’s population identifies as Buddhist, and many from the conservative Theravada Buddhism majority believe abortion directly contradicts teachings.

Some activists are therefore using religious language to discuss terminations and raise support – TamTang, for instance, has performed ceremonies in honour of the victims of unsafe abortions. Still, many in the medical profession are hesitant.

“It totally depends on which doctor you are talking [to] when it comes to abortion,” says Khemthong Tonsakulrungruang, a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University who has researched law and religion. “But in general, I think doctors are a bit conservative and [take a] strong moral stance on such issues.

“It’s totally understandable. For Buddhists, the first precept is not to kill any life form. Traditional belief is convinced that it is wrong to prevent birth; even contraception was once considered wrong.”

Thailand’s abortion laws do not force a doctor to carry out the procedure should they object, however they are supposed to refer women to other services. Some do this, often through the 1663 hotline or the Referral for Safe Abortion network. But TamTang said many do not.

The Telegraph found similar. Posing as a woman 10 weeks pregnant, we called eight public hospitals – six said outright that they do not perform abortions, while one offered a consultation but was vague about next steps. Only one said they offer no services but referred us to the 1663 hotline.

“Many doctors are on the fence about abortion, and it’s still challenging to convince the doctors [to perform abortions],” says Tossaporn Sereerak, chair of a Thai parliamentary health commission.

Activists warn that bureaucratic inertia, stigma and a lack of political will means little has been done to expand affordable access or combat misinformation, which has flourished since the US overturned Roe v Wade, the law that gave a constitutional right to abortion.

And in Thailand, speaking publicly about the issue can still trigger a wave of abuse.

More than a decade after he first wrote about abortion, Phra Shine was photographed at a protest. His presence attracted a strong backlash: he was labelled  “garbage” and a “hungry ghost in a saffron robe” – some of the conservative Theravada Buddhism majority say a woman who undergoes an abortion will be haunted by a ghost.

“People said I was a fake monk, they said that I was exploiting the orange robes,” says 55-year-old Phra Shine. “I think Thai society has been shaped by one type of interpretation of Buddhism … and is scared of different opinions and confrontation. Especially as a monk, it can be difficult to speak openly.

“But I think there’s hope for the future, Thailand has come a long way … change is sometimes incremental,” he adds.

For now, Phra Shine is focused on creating a space to share experiences on Facebook, where he now has thousands of followers and regularly posts about women’s rights and LGBTQ+ issues.

“Women are shamed and blamed for so much when it comes to sex and abortion,” he says. “My message to people is that they are not alone – that I, as a monk, do not deny their existence. That a religious figure in orange robes supports them.”

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