As much as there is radical improvement needed in both sex education and availability of contraception, one hopes this will have a positive effect on the lives of the seemingly never ending supply of women who are impregnated and subsequently abandoned by low life boyfriends and husbands who completely abdicate their responsibilities as a parent.

Senators have voted in favour of allowing abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy while retaining penalties for later terminations, a move that pro-choice activists said fell short of protecting the rights of the mother.

In a late night session of the Senate on Monday, legislators voted 166-7 in favour of amending a law that criminalises abortion, backing a plan that seeks to tackle unregulated terminations by non-medical practitioners.

Under the amendment, an abortion after 12 weeks would be allowed only in certain conditions and would otherwise be punishable by up to six months in prison, or a fine of up to 10,000 baht or both.

"This means abortion is conditional and can only be done by doctors according to the law," Senator Wanlop Tangkhananurak told Reuters.

The amendment was passed by the lower house last week and follows a Constitutional Court decision last February that ruled that criminalising abortion was unconstitutional and violated human rights.
Senate backs amendment allowing early-stage abortions