This study found that fewer than half (48.6%) of induced abortions carried out by public hospital physicians complied with the current law in 1999. Hence, a broader interpretation of maternal and fetal indications in law would support improved access to safe abortions, and legal reform is needed to take into account new perspectives and actual practice of the medical profession. However, we must draw lessons from historical efforts that amendments to the law approved by the House of Representatives in 1981 failed in the Senate, primarily due to the lobbying efforts of Chamlong Srimuang, the leader of a broad-based religious coalition.