Five people were arrested in Indonesia last Friday for allegedly being involved in an online abortion clinic in Ceper, Klaten, in Central Java.
According to The Jakarta Post, Agung Nugroho, his wife Anisa Puspitasari and local midwife Ariyanti reportedly offered abortion services on the messaging app LINE under the username Nindira. Dian Arisa and Yoga Janu, a couple who were suspected of using their services, were also arrested.
Local police officer Aries Andhi said his team stumbled on the abortion service after Puspitasari reported her phone missing. Police investigated the case and found Arisa had stolen the phone.
While authorities were investigating the data, a conversation linked to services provided by the abortion clinic was discovered. Nugroho and Puspitasari admitted operating the clinic for the past three years and said they had seen at least 200 patients. Most of the patients were three months pregnant at most.
Nugroho said only abortion drugs like Cytotec were given to patients while they were still in their first trimester. The clinic reportedly charged 3 million rupiah (US$209) per tablet and 10 million rupiah if they wanted to use a midwife for their abortion.
Ariyanti said she was only involved in three operations regretted her actions. She was paid 3 million rupiah for each procedure. Abortion is only legal in Indonesia for rape victims or in life-threatening cases.