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Chalerm targets websites selling abortion drugs

Public Health Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung yesterday said he would urge the Information Technology and Computer (ICT) Ministry to shut down websites selling abortion drugs because these medicines are harmful to users.



Chalerm said that the unintended pregnancy reflected the problem of unsafe sex that might also cause HIV/AIDS issues to be more severe.

Following reports that some websites by self-proclaimed medical professionals had sold abortion medicines and had given advises for women with unintended pregnancy, Chalerm said his ministry had no policy allowing such medicine-selling websites. Such specific drug-selling websites are dangerous for public members who are not well-informed, he said, his office would urge the ICT Minstry to investigate and close the websites inside and outside Thailand.

If the abortion drug-selling websites were not controlled, it would become a social issue and might cause the HIV/AIDS problem to be more severe because the unintended pregnancy indicated unprotected sex, thus, putting people's lives at risk of HIV/AIDS infection at any moment, he said. He revealed a 2007 report that there were 17,000 new HIV/AIDS infection cases each year, or 47 persons per day, and nearly half of them were youths aged 18-19. He said Thailand currently has about 500,000 people living with HIV/AIDS.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Secretary-General Pipat Yingseri warned the public against such medicine-selling websites because the drugs in general should be sold by authorised pharmacy shops and the medicines sold on websites might be fake and fatally harmful to health. Selling medicines via media such as leaflets, Internet, and direct-sale method is against the law and is punishable for up to five years in jail and Bt10,000 in fine, he said. The charge of selling drugs identified as abortion pills is also punishable for up to Bt100,000, he added.


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