Five years after abortion was legalised in Thailand, abortion access remains limited. As an answer to these constraints, the abortion rights group Tamtang Foundation has opened Tarntawan Clinic, aiming to find a friendlier way of providing abortion care and to widen access to abortion in Thailand.

A network of civil society organisations has filed a petition with the Social Security Office (SSO) demanding that it ensure access to abortion for individuals insured under the Social Security Scheme.

A network of abortion rights and labour rights groups have demanded that the Social Security Office ensure access to abortion for individuals insured under the Social Security Scheme after they found that many individuals were turned away by hospitals or stigmatized by medical personnel for seeking abortions.

At a time when Thailand’s birth rate is falling and the government is encouraging people to have more children, a growing number of women have reportedly been fired after their employer-mandated pregnancy tests come back positive. Many have decided to get an abortion to avoid unemployment.

On Saturday (8 March), activists in Chiang Mai staged an International Women’s Day march from Tha Pae gates to the Three Kings Monument carrying signs calling attention to gender equality issues, from abortion rights and the legalization of sex work to calling for support for women facing violence in Myanmar.

As the 2023 general election approaches, activists and members of civil society hope for policies that will ensure LGBTQ rights and gender equality for Thailand.

<p>Two years after Thailand passed an amendment to the Criminal Code legalising abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy, access to services remains difficult due to lack of information and facility and prejudice from medical personnel, while the Ministry of Public Health has refused to cover abortion fees for people not covered by the &ldquo;Gold Card&rdquo; universal healthcare scheme.</p>

<p>The new abortion law, in which abortion after the 12th week of pregnancy is still a criminal offence, does not respect international human rights principles, says a network of activists and civil society organisations who gathered in front of parliament on 25 January, when the bill was passed by the Senate.</p>

<p>The Thai parliament on 20 January passed a new bill allowing abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy. However, the bill does not decriminalize abortion,&nbsp;as abortion after the 12th week of pregnancy is still a criminal offense.&nbsp;</p>

<p>On Wednesday (23 December), the Thai parliament voted to accept the first reading of two bills which amend Sections 301 &ndash; 305 of the Criminal Code, which currently criminalize abortion.</p>

<p>A network of civil society organisations have submitted an open letter to the Office of the Council of State, calling for the abolition of the law criminalizing abortion and an extension of the public consultation period for the amendment draft after a technical issue prevented citizens from participating in the survey.</p>

<p>The Women for Freedom and Democracy group has set up a station at today&#39;s protest at the Democracy Monument for people to sign their petition calling for the decriminalization of abortion.</p>