How to get contraception from Hospital Kuala Lumpur

“So your blood test and Pap smear results are in; everything is fine, you’re very healthy.”

“Okay cool. I want to go on the pill.”

“I’m afraid I can’t prescribe you those.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re not married. Wait, what religion are you?”

So here’s the deal: Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) has a pretty decent Ob/Gyn department. You have to wait a bit, but not as long as at other government departments and you can laugh at pregnant women waddling about while you wait. The service is actually pretty good, especially if you are referred, as they try to accommodate all your needs. After they tell you you’re a whore, that is.

“Actually, I’m not too sure. We’ve had a case like you before, where the woman was not a Muslim. Let me check with the consultant if we can give it to non-Muslims.”

Two minutes later, the consultant walks in. He tells me he can’t give me birth control pills because the hospital can’t be seen to encourage this sort of behaviour among unmarried women.

“What sort of behaviour?”

“You know, promiscuity.”

“What makes you think I’m promiscuous?”

“You’re not married.”

So the HKL’s understanding of promiscuity is that any sex outside of marriage is necessarily promiscuous. We’re off to a great start.

After a long discussion with the consultant (during which various trainee doctors and nurses came into the room, stared at me and then walked away whispering to each other), I learnt that there isn’t actually an official circular to this effect.

“I’m not saying you’re promiscuous. But all religions prohibit it.”

“Prohibit what?”

“Sex before marriage”

“I’m an atheist. There’s no law that says the right to healthcare is dependent on religious beliefs. Your policy is one that discriminates against me.”

“We just have a policy, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

The first thing they do when you walk into the clinic is ask for information such as whether you’re sexually active, whether you’re married, whether you have kids etc. and all of that goes on file. They will screen unmarried women for HIV and other STDs, but they won’t give you condoms. If you’re an unmarried mother, they will attend to you while you’re pregnant and deliver your bastard children at RM30 a pop, but you can’t have a diaphragm. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Why the hypocrisy?

“You can buy condoms or pills from any pharmacy.”

“Yeah but what if I can’t afford it? Most Malaysians survive on a pittance, so it wouldn’t be entirely surprising if I couldn’t afford it, would it?”

“I’m sorry, I cannot do anything. It’s just the way things are.”

The truth is, they’re comfortable with the way things are. Without anything in black and white, the people running the department (who have a bit of common sense) can deliver the babies of unmarried women on the hush and make exceptions in certain situations.

“What about all this stuff in the news about baby dumping? Are you telling me it’s not okay for HKL to be seen supporting pre-marital sex, but it’s okay for them to be seen supporting baby dumping?”

“I’m not saying we support baby dumping.”

“Well, you’re not helping either, are you?”

“Fine! You can have the pills! But we’re not encouraging this.”

“Sure you’re not.”

And that’s how you get contraception from HKL.

So the good news is that if you’re an unmarried Malaysian who is sexually active and not worried about going to hell, you can still depend on your government to provide the necessary healthcare. The bad news is that you will have to go in there prepared to face a ton of questions and fight it out before you can get anywhere.

We are lucky to live in a country with free healthcare. But I fear that fewer and fewer of us will be able to take advantage of this privilege if we do not question and challenge such practices (that I can only describe as "unfair") as they arise. The people at HKL were prepared to turn me away and things only started to change when I fought back.

I can understand not wanting to encourage sex amongst minors. But a 35-year-old sexually active unmarried woman is an unmarried woman nonetheless. Should she be denied free birth control on the basis that the government doesn’t think she should be having sex?

Many of the people I shared this experience with responded with a simple, “What do you expect, this is Malaysia!”

What does that even mean? In this case, does it mean that all Malaysians are expected to be religious? That people who do not believe in God have no rights? Is that really something we’re prepared to accept?

HKL does not currently stock low dose oral contraceptive pills which have fewer side effects.

June Low used to be a legal eagle and is now working on creative pursuits. She is a keen observer of human foibles and finds humour in everything and anything.www.junewow.com