ince I started working in forensic pathology on 2012, there are a lot

of 'first time'-s that I could not forget. One of them is having my first
infanticide case. According to Indonesian law, infanticide means "A
mother who for the execution of a decision driven by fear of the
discovery of her forthcoming confinement, takes the life of her chidl
at or soon after its birth." The penalty is seven years in prison, and
nine years in prison of it is proven that she has deliberate intent.
Working in a big city such as Jakarta, had a remains of a baby
delivered to the morgue is somehow common thing to happen. Most
of them remained cold case, but some were discovered as well.

There is one discovered case that I would not forget. It was when I
got a case of a baby boy, covered in batik cloths and the mother of
the child had been caught. She was a student in health care related
faculty, aged less than twenty years old and she took an 'abortion
pill' she found at the internet. I got to examined both of them. The
baby died due to asphyxia, there was a signs of smothering found
and the mother admitted that she smothered her unwanted baby as
soon as he was born by clamping her hands on his face. Police told
me that she told her friend to bury the baby at public cemetery, but
the administration office demands official letters (certificate of death
from the hospital). They only got feeble excuse, so the
administration got suspicious and reported them.

When I met the mother, I realized that we known each other. She
was one of my students when I got a teaching job. She didn't dare
to look me in the eye, lowering her bloodshot eyes. She was
obviously been crying a lot. I decided not to say anything
unecessary, only explaining the procedure needed. The signs of the
pregnancy and birth on her was obvious. How did she hide the
pregnancy? She was a bit of a big girl, and she wore loose
clothings. None of her friends suspect anything. When she told the
guy who was responsible for her pregnancy (her boyfriend), he told
some of his friends to find the abortion pill. Thus, the abortion
happened.

I know that the constitution regarding reproduction health only

allows abortion on some condition such as emergency situation that
theratens the safety of the mother and rape that could cause
trauma to the mother. And it could only be done of the age of the
pregnancy was less than fourty days. Speaking about abortion
outside that constitution would cause lengthy debate whether it
should be legalized or not. I don't want to talk about pro life and pro
choice ... but instead why do this kind of thing still happens? Why
do I get at least three to four abortion / infanticide cases each
months?

The mother of the baby, for example ... she's studying in health
care related faculty, already at the legal age to do consensual
sexual intercourse, she knew the risks and consequences and yet
... this still happened. What happened to those who do not know
about these things? I understand that for some people, sex
education still considered taboo and somehow means 'teaching
people to perform adultery', thus ... some people are afraid to
discuss it. They prefer finding informations by themselves on the
internet and believe me, there are tons of misleading informations
on the internet.

The mother of the baby told me, "I found the pill seller on social
media. He guaranteed that it's safe. All I need to do is drink a
couple and it will finished."

he police show me the advertisement and I read the 'menstruation

pills'. One of the testimonial terrifyingly said : I did not get my period
on two months and felt bloated, but after I took a couple of these
pills... I instatly got my period. It's like cleansing! Lots of blood and
clotts.

I need to take a couple of deep breaths after I read it, the abscence
of menstruation could be caused by a lot of factors, pregnancy,
hormones instability, nutrition issues, even malignancy on the
reproduction organs. Second of all, taking pills to end pregnancy is
not the same as constipation where we can just take mild laxative
and problem solved! There are a lot of dangerous consequences
regarding unsafe abortion. Massive bleeding, shock and infections
were only some of the consequences. For example, if a woman
takes a pill that causes contractions, even if there is a small part of
the products left in her womb, the uterus will continue to do
contractions as the body's response to alien objects, she could got
shock due to the massive pain or bleeding.
Third of all, the psychological impacts. Baby is different from having
a tumor removed from our body. There's always attachment
involved between the mother and the child. That's why the
constitution regarding abortion also invloves 'psychological and
spiritual guidance' during the abortion. If the psychological problems
aren't treated properly, they could lead to mental illness.

Those are some of the reasons why I think sex education is more
than necessary these days. We need more than 'the bird and the
bees' story nowadays. It should be given according to age and the
risks. For example, teenagers should know about how to maintain
reproduction health and body awareness. Older people (at the legal
age) should know about safe sexual behavior, as well as
consensual sexual intercourse and its consequences. Non-
consensual sexual intercourse and statutory rape should be known
by everyone and everyone should know where to seek help. The
last thing we want is another thread in social media, about a victim
of a date rape who is too afraid to seek help or another baby
remains delivered to the forensic department, with their mothers
somewhere dealing with the physical and psychological impacts.