Section 302: Causing abortion with consent
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดทำให้หญิงแท้งลูกโดยหญิงนั้นยินยอม ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินห้าปี หรือปรับไม่เกินหนึ่งแสนบาท หรือทั้งจำทั้งปรับ ถ้าการกระทำนั้นเป็นเหตุให้หญิงรับอันตรายสาหัสอย่างอื่นด้วย ผู้กระทำต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินเจ็ดปี หรือปรับไม่เกินหนึ่งแสนสี่หมื่นบาท หรือทั้งจำทั้งปรับ ถ้าการกระทำนั้นเป็นเหตุให้หญิงถึงแก่ความตาย ผู้กระทำต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินสิบปี และปรับไม่เกินสองแสนบาท หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๔ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๖) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๐]
English translation
Whoever causes a woman to abort with her consent shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding five years, or a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand baht, or both.
If such act also causes any other grievous bodily harm to the woman, the offender shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding seven years, or a fine not exceeding one hundred forty thousand baht, or both.
If such act causes the death of the woman, the offender shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding ten years and a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand baht.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified. Always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
The elements are: (1) causing a woman's abortion, and (2) the woman's consent to it. The section targets the person who performs or procures the abortion, not the woman herself, whose position is governed by Section 301. It has three tiers: a base offence, an aggravated form where the woman suffers other grievous bodily harm, and a further aggravated form where she dies, with penalties rising accordingly. Section 303 is the parallel offence where the woman does not consent, carrying heavier penalties, and Section 305 exempts a qualifying medical practitioner from liability under this section in the defined cases.
Why this matters in practice
The Supreme Court has held that causing a woman's abortion is an offence whether or not she consents, and that those who merely help or facilitate can be liable as supporters. Importantly, the offence is not a compoundable, personal offence, so investigators may act without a complaint from the injured party and the public prosecutor may bring the case, meaning a private settlement does not stop it. The central practical defence is the Section 305 medical exemption; where the abortion was performed by a qualifying practitioner within the statutory conditions there is no offence. Consult a Thai lawyer if you are involved in such a case.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 6443/2545 (2002)
Causing a woman's abortion is an offence whether or not she consents; those who help or facilitate the act before or during it are liable as supporters under Section 302 paragraph 1 with Section 86, and the court may convict on that basis even though the prosecution did not expressly cite the section.
Two defendants drove the consenting woman to an unnamed woman to perform the abortion and kept watch during it; they were held liable as supporters under Section 302 paragraph 1 with Section 86, the court noting an abortion is an offence whether or not the woman consents.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 6318/2541 (1998)
An offence under Section 302 is not a personal, compoundable offence, so investigators may proceed without a valid complaint and the public prosecutor may bring the case.
Although the complaint was filed by the child's mother, who was not the injured party, the investigation and prosecution were valid because a Section 302 offence is not a personal offence requiring a complaint.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 874/2544 (2001)
Performing an abortion on a woman with her consent, contrary to law, is an offence under Section 302 paragraph 1.
Two defendants were convicted under Section 302 paragraph 1 with Section 83, together with offences under the Control of Medical Practice Act, for an abortion performed on a woman with her consent; they pleaded guilty.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 6 Supreme Court decisions (1959 to 2005)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 6443/2545 (2002)
- Decision 6318/2541 (1998)
- Decision 954/2502 (1959)
- Decision 30/2507 (1964)
- Decision 4978/2548 (2005)
- Decision 874/2544 (2001)
This list is selected automatically, weighted towards judgments that turn on this section rather than ones that merely recite it when passing sentence. It has not yet been reviewed by the firm.
Most often cited alongside
Sections that appear in the same judgments as this one most often. The figure is the number of decisions.
Counted across the firm's corpus of 83,652 Supreme Court decisions, 1921 to 2026. The count is complete; the stated year range trims rare outliers so it describes where the citations actually sit. These figures are computed by us and are not official court statistics. How we count these, and what we measured
Frequently asked questions
Is performing an abortion with the woman's consent a crime in Thailand?
Yes, under Section 302, unless it is done by a qualifying medical practitioner within the conditions in Section 305. The base penalty is up to five years imprisonment, rising if the woman suffers grievous harm or dies.
Can a Section 302 abortion case be settled and dropped?
No. The Supreme Court has treated the offence as not a personal, compoundable offence, so investigators can proceed without a complaint and the public prosecutor can bring the case regardless of a private settlement.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 302 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 302. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-302/ (accessed 17 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 302 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-302/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-302/"><p>Whoever causes a woman to abort with her consent shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding five years, or a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand baht, or both. If such act also causes any other grievous bodily harm to the woman, the offender shall…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 302 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-302/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.