Vietnam ministry wants women to obtain ‘rape verification’ for abortion permission A pregnant woman receives a ultrasound can at the Central Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital in Hanoi. Tuoi Tre Women have to prove they are rape victims to be allowed to obtain abortions for fetus of above 12 weeks, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health said in a draft Law on population that has ignited a wave of outrage among local residents and experts. The ministry wants to impose a ban on 12-week abortions, except for cases in which the unborn babies are result of rapes or incestuous affairs, or fetuses that can cause seriously impacts on the health of themselves and the pregnant women. A panel in charge of drafting the Law on population is still collecting feedback from the public and experts to complete it, but such a controversial regulation has displeased the public. “So what could be used as evidence for being raped?” Nguyen Thi Van, a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reader, questioned when asked on the phone. Van came up with many questions, as to “how the victim can prove she was raped,” or “what agencies will verify the rape.” “What if the fetus will be much older than 12 weeks when all the proof and evidence is obtained?” Phuong Thao, a reader from District 7, said.  “The fetus then will have grown too much to be aborted or already come into being.” Another reader wondered if the draft rule violates the citizens’ right to privacy. “Being raped is already a sensitive and shameful incident for the victims, so why should we force them to reveal what they want to keep confidential?” a reader said. If the regulation is really put in place, it would only bring more customers to illegal abortion services, according to Hoang Quoc Bao, a reader form Go Vap District. “Women will then be refused by hospitals as they lack the ‘rape verification document,’ and will thus resort to illegal services,” he said. Nguyen Van Tan, deputy head of the General Department of Population and Family Planning, also expressed his worry for the safety and health of women who may use illegal abortion services when they fail to meet such a rule.     Meanwhile, lawyer Ha Hai, from the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, noted that under current laws, courts are the only authority that can conclude whether a woman has been raped or not. Documents, if any, issued by hospitals or other agencies will have no full legal grounds to prove a woman has been raped, the lawyer said. Another lawyer, Huynh Phuoc Hiep, also said verifying a rape case is the job of investigators, not citizens. Professor Dr. Nguyen Dinh Cu, chairman of the Scientific Council under the Institute for Population, Family and Children Studies, said that the draft rule is aimed at preventing the practice of giving birth based on selection of sex of unborn babies. The drafting board imposes restrictions on abortion of fetus of 12-week old because at such an age of fetus upward, the sex of the fetus can be identified, Dr. Cu said. However, along with scientific advances, such a threshold for sex identification will be lowered in the future, and at that time, the rule will become obsolete, the scientist said. Tuoi Tre News