Criminal Liability for Abortion by Midwives

Abstract

The crime of abortion as a prohibited act, it is appropriate that the perpetrators of the crime of abortion should be held accountable for their actions. However, even though these cases often occur, it is not known how the doctors or perpetrators are responsible for patients who are victims of abortion, it is difficult to prove it because of the openness of doctors and other medical personnel to the general public. In Indonesia itself, it is strictly forbidden to carry out an abortion because it is contrary to existing norms. The regulation regarding the prohibition of criminal abortion is regulated in the Criminal Code in Articles 346 to 349. In Indonesian positive law, the regulation of abortion is contained in two laws, namely the Criminal Code (KUHP) Articles 299, 346, 346, 347, 348. and 349 and regulated in Law no. 36 of 2009 concerning Health Articles 75, 76, 77. There are differences between the Criminal Code (KUHP) and Law no. 36 of 2009 concerning Health in regulating abortion issues. The Criminal Code (KUHP) strictly prohibits abortion for any reason. In essence, every criminal act must consist of outward elements by the act, containing behavior and the consequences caused by it. Based on this, the principle of ‘no criminal responsibility without guilt' refers to a process that requires errors that underlie the validity of legal statements for the reproach of the perpetrators of the crime. Therefore, the judge is obliged to examine and prove every element of the article indicted by the public prosecutor.