When abortions are illegal, women will still get abortions (Thailand edition)

Thai police say they have found the remains of more than 2,000 foetuses, thought to be from illegal abortions, hidden at a Buddhist temple in Bangkok.

(BBC.) Thailand's anti-abortion law restricts the procedure to women and girls who are victims of incest, or whose pregnancies endanger their health. (Note that Senator-elect Toomey, R-Pa., wants an even stricter anti-abortion law than Thailand's.) When one clinic had to close because the provider moved (MSNBC), there was still enough demand for abortion services that a non-doctor stepped in. Abortion in the first two trimesters -- and especially in the first few weeks -- is, really, a straightforward procedure. But it's still safest in a regulated medical clinic, with trained and licensed professionals at hand, and with emergency facilities within easy reach. In Thailand, though,

[w]ealthy women can get abortions in safe facilities but the vast majority of Thai women wanting an abortion use clinics which could put their health and safety at great risk, [the BBC's] correspondent says.

When abortions are illegal or hard to obtain, women will still get abortions. They just get ones in less than ideal conditions (or outright dangerous, unsanitary conditions), or they have higher-risk abortions because they've had to delay the procedure until later in the pregnancy, or they delay treatment for complications for fear of legal consequences.

But they still get abortions, and you get horrific situations like this one.