I usually stay away from ‘serious’ topics like a kid from a broccoli salad, but this issue is a pretty big one, and I wanted to get a few thoughts out. You may have heard recently about the current abortion scandal going on in Thailand; basically, someone discovered over 2,000 aborted fetuses at a Bangkok temple, a pretty grisly find. This would be pretty awful in any country, but it’s especially significant in Thailand for several reasons, most notably the fact that abortion is: a) illegal in Thailand and b) seen as a grave sin in Buddhist countries. As you may expect, it’s tearing up the headlines and causing a huge stir. However, while regrettable in every sense of the word, the fallout – one would hope – may prompt some much-needed introspection in Thai culture. What’s done is done, but hopefully this will cause a few people in positions of influence to examine the cause of the problem instead of simply start to throw blame around.

Let me state first that I don’t have the solutions; I’m not a sociologist, or a doctor, or a lawmaker or even religious, so I realize I might be talking out of my ass on a few things here. But what do I do have is a decade in Thailand, several years’ experience teaching teenagers, and enough contact and experience with Thai customs, culture and opinions to see, more or less, where some of the problems lie. Obviously I’m not the only one, but I thought I’d write a bit about it anyway.

Police forensics teams had a grim job.

Police forensics teams had a grim job.

It’s likely that one of the root causes of all of this is that sex education is pretty much non-existent in Thailand. When I was teaching (in an all-girls’ high school, mind you), I told my students that I would always answer truthfully if they had any questions. And, as the school was run by very nice but very old and old-fashioned women, this led to me being the go-to guy for advice on everything from television to travel to, yes, sex. It was pretty shocking how little these girls knew, and while I was very careful never to really get into it with them, I always made sure to at least give them enough information that they could then go and find out more info on their own. They came to me because sex education in school was basically a drawing of a man and woman, a quick rundown of how things work, and no questions! I asked them why they can’t go to a teacher and talk about this, and they looked at me like I was insane.

This is also apparent with the relationship between many children and parents. Let’s face it, no one on Earth likes talking to their parents about squishy, grunting sex questions, but most people I grew up with at least knew that they could go to their parents if there was a problem and they would find support and help. From my experience, a lot of Thai teenagers are simply too scared to ask questions until it’s too late.

And since there’s no legitimate outlets where teens can learn from, this pattern is never righted. I’ve heard some blindingly ignorant questions from people who are well into their 20s who have not the slightest clue about human sexuality.

From the high school sex education book in Thai schools.

From the high school sex education book in Thai schools.

I can’t say I blame them either. I’m sure there are plenty of ‘modern’ parents who understand that their kids need frank and honest info about this and to be told that their door is open if the kid ever needs help with something, but overall Thai parents tend to be frustratingly old-fashioned when it comes the birds and the bees. A recent scientific poll of Thais I recently carried out (which means I asked a bunch of my Thai friends one night) showed that this is true: when I asked if they’d ever go to their parents for sex advice, I was met with a chorus of horrified “No way!” They said that they would only go to their parents in an extreme emergency, and that advice on sex, birth control, and all things related came from their friends. Friends who, if you may remember, only get a bare minimum of sex education from fuddy-duddy teachers who are too shy – or even prohibited – from going into too much detail. It then becomes a case of the blind leading the blind.

I also think that part of the problem is that in Thailand, ‘out of sight, out of mind’ is often the prevailing mindset. Thai children – well, the girls anyway – are supposed to be demure, obedient, and chaste; “nice young ladies” in the language of your Great Aunt Ethel. The idea that their precious snowflakes are actually horny teenagers – as they are anywhere in the world – isn’t even considered.

Taking this even further we get into the minefield of: should abortions be allowed? Currently in Thailand, an abortion is only allowed if the girl has been raped; in cases of incest; or if her health is in danger because of her pregnancy. I’m going to stop here because this is where the topic really gets controversial, and there are simply too many shades of gray to do anything but set up a forum for pages and pages of arguments and counter-arguments on my blog, which won’t get anyone anywhere.

I find it strange that this museum that depicts what happens to you in hell (in this case, if you get an abortion) is frequented by kids and families, but the topic of teaching kids about sex and birth control is still considered controversial. Courtesy MyThailandBlog.com

I find it strange that this museum that depicts what happens to you in hell (in this case, if you get an abortion) is frequented by kids and families, but the topic of teaching kids about sex and birth control is still considered controversial. Courtesy MyThailandBlog.com

I could also look at this with a WTF sideways glance at religion; clearly the thought that the babies’ souls could somehow piggyback on the prayers offered for others is a pretty diseased loophole to put stock in.

Jeez, abortion and religion, officially the most controversial post GregToDiffer’s ever had!

Anyway, just some thoughts. While this is no doubt a terrible situation, I think most people can agree that the majority of these abortions were only carried out because the parents of these babies were either too scared, too ill-informed, or both, to handle the situation properly. You don’t combat fear and lack of knowledge by promoting an atmosphere of retribution and restricting access to information. Education and understanding is what’s needed and, judging by the thousands of fetuses that have been found, it’s needed pretty quickly.