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The abortion happened in one of the flats in this estate (Google Maps photo) |
A Filipina domestic helper was jailed for 12 months today after she pleaded guilty at Shatin Court to taking a drug to induce her own abortion.
T. A., 35 years old, was also jailed for two months for having in her possession an
abortion pill, but the two sentences were made to run at the same time by Acting
Principal Magistrate Cheang Kei-hong.
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Click to view |
A police
complaint said T.A. “unlawfully administered to (her)self a poison or other
noxious thing, namely misprostol, with intent to procure (her) own miscarriage”
at her employer’s house in The Palazzo in Fo Tan last April 6, in violation of
the Offenses Against the Person Ordinance.
Under this
law, abortion is illegal unless (1) the continuation of the pregnancy would
involve risk to the life, physical or mental health of the pregnant woman
greater than if the pregnancy were terminated; or (2) the unborn child would be
severely handicapped due to physical or mental abnormality.
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Basahin ang detalye! |
The law
also requires that assessment of any of these conditions would have to be made
by two doctors, and the legal abortion can only be done at designated clinics
or hospitals.
She was also
charged with possession of Part 1 poison after a tablet containing misprostol was found in her possession on
April 6, at her employer’s house, in violation of the Pharmacy and Poisons
Ordinance.
In an
earlier hearing, T.A. was reminded not to talk to her employer, after she said
she went to his house to take her things.
Chum said one
of the terms of her $2,000 bail was not to talk to her employer.
“Do not do
that again, otherwise bail will be cancelled,” he added.
(Pregnant migrant workers who need guidance and information about their rights may consult with PathFinders Hong Kong, a non-government organization that assists migrant women and their children. Click on their website here for more information on what they do, and how they can reached: https://www.pathfinders.org.hk/ )