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FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY

GENDER ISSUES

Isn't it time to legalize abortion in the

PH?
It's unfortunate that the abortions that happen in the Philippines
are unsafe, a far cry from the rest of the world
Fritzie Rodriguez
@fritzdrodriguez

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Published 4:12 PM, May 09, 2015

Updated 5:58 PM, May 09, 2015
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THIS STORY MAKES PEOPLE HAPPY

UNSAFE ABORTION. Around 1,000 Filipino women die each year from unsafe
abortion complications, the Guttmacher Institute reported in 2013

MANILA, Philippines Abortion.

Filipinos are quick to throw moral punches upon hearing the word,
yet many of them do not understand where their punches really
land.
On women.

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Misinformed views on abortion cause fear, stigma, and even

death. Since policymakers are also misinformed, punitive laws
on women remain despite recommendations from the United
Nations in 2006:
"The Committee recommends that the State party
[Philippines] consider reviewing the laws relating to
abortion with a view to removing punitive provisions

imposed on women who have abortions and provide

them with access to quality services for the management
of complications arising from unsafe abortions and to
reduce womens maternal mortality rates..." UN
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW)
By banning safe and legal abortions, the Philippines, ironically, has
allowed unsafe ones to continue, advocates say.
Many Filipinos resort to abortions under unsanitary conditions
using outdated techniques, the Guttmacher Institute, an
international non-governmental organization (NGO), observed. In
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fact, around 1,000 Filipinos die each year from abortion

complications, Guttmacher reported in 2013. (READ: A hard look
at PH abortion)
This contributes to the country's maternal mortality ratio, the 6th
highest in Southeast Asia as of 2013, according to UNICEF.
'Unsafe abortion as a procedure for terminating a
pregnancy performed by persons lacking the necessary
skills or in an environment not in conformity with minimal
medical standards, or both.' World Health Organization
Where abortion is permitted on broad legal grounds, it is
generally safe, and where it is highly restricted, it is typically
unsafe, said the World Health Organization and Guttmacher.
Womens stories before and after the abortion are also often
silenced, leaving the public clueless about why they had abortion
in the first place:
Unintended pregnancy resulting from insufficient
understanding of sexuality and safe sex
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Inadequate access to reproductive health (RH) services and

information
Violence against women (i.e., rape, incest, marital rape)
Discrimination against modern contraception

Percentage of births in the Philippines from 2003-2008

(Source: Guttmacher Institute)

Unplanned

37%

Mistimed

20%

Unwanted

16%

Although considered a crime under Philippine law, hundreds of

thousands of Filipinos are getting abortions:

Projections based on the 2000 national abortion rate

PH abortions (Source: Guttmacher Instititute)
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2008

2012

560,000

610,000

Legalizing abortion, for some, will always be immoral and

dangerous obscuring the science behind the procedure, the
woman's right to her life and body, and the reality of unsafe
abortions in the Philippines.
"Abortion is a medical procedure. If done by professional and
experienced healthcare providers, it's a very safe procedure,"
clarified Bing Parcon of the Women's Global Network for
Reproductive Rights.
"It becomes unsafe when done by yourself when you know
nothing, or by hilots who are non-experts, or if you drink things
that further harm you," she added.

Old laws, modern times

The Revised Penal Code of the Philippines penalizes those
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committing or assisting abortion: the woman, her parents, and

healthcare providers.
The Code is based on the Spanish Penal Code of 1870, and
departs "from pre-colonial Philippine customary law under which
abortion was not considered a crime and was widely practiced by
indigenous communities, a 2010 report by the Center for
Reproductive Rights said.
While modern Spain recognizes abortion as a womans right, the
Philippines has maintained its colonial Spanish prohibitions.
In fact, in April 2015, the UN again advised the Philippines to
amend its laws to legalize abortion in cases of rape, incest,
threats to the mother's life or health, and serious malformation of
the fetus. It also recommended decriminalizing "all other cases"
where women undergo abortion.
In other countries, abortion is also allowed for socioeconomic
reasons, physical or mental health factors, and other
circumstances as requested by women. Abortion is carried out
within certain stages of the pregnancy, with restrictions varying
across countries. (READ: When abortion is humane)
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Meanwhile, abortion under Philippine law has "no express

exceptions," said lawyer Claire Padilla of EnGendeRights, an NGO
championing women's rights and rights to sexual orientation and
gender identity.
"While a liberal interpretation of the [Philippine] law could exempt
abortion provision from criminal liability when done to save the
womans life, there are no such explicit provisions," Guttmacher
reported.
In 2011, however, the Department of Justice (DOJ) created the
Criminal Code Committee (CCC) to review the country's existing
laws and to "draft a simple, modern, and organic Criminal Code of
the Philippines."
"The initial draft of the Criminal Code Committee, they provided
justified grounds for abortion," Padilla told Rappler. "They wrote
exceptions on account of rape, danger to life and health of the
woman, and serious fetal malformation."
"After consultations with certain groups, eventually, the draft they
presented in October 2014 already dropped the provisions on
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justified abortion," she continued.

In the draft, women undergoing abortion may still be imprisoned
for 6 to 12 years.
Padilla's group and other concerned individuals wrote a letter to
the DOJ, asking them to revert to the previous draft containing
provisions on justified abortions to provide an opportunity to
discuss the widespread violations of womens rights due to the
total criminal ban on abortion.
The group received a letter from the DOJ this April 2015 which
said that the way forward is to consider separate legislation on
justified abortion and that the CCC is ready to work with your
organization on the necessary language.
"It's both a public issue and a health issue that needs to be
addressed medically and legally," Padilla stressed.

'Next steps'

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Given the latest Guttmacher statistics and the 2015 UN

recommendations, Padilla said the "next step" would be for the
Philippine government to provide access to safe and legal
abortion.
"Because if you look at the whole RH and sexual health situation,
there's still inadequate access to contraceptives," Padilla
explained. "Because you have a high unintended pregnancy,
eventually you will definitely have a high incidence of unsafe
abortion."
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"And because as of now, our law does not provide for any
exception, women would end up accessing unsafe and
clandestine abortion. Because of that, we have high incidence of
maternal mortality and morbidity related to unsafe abortion."
Without the full access to RH information and services, the cycle
repeats itself.

Stigma
So what is stopping the Philippines from relaxing its laws on
abortion? Stigma.
"Abortion stigma is everywhere," said Parcon, "Even coming from
the person herself who underwent abortion. Stigma is one of our
biggest problems in abortion."
Despite the Department of Health's policy ensuring treatment for
women with post-abortion complications, some are still
discriminated against by healthcare providers, NGOs have
observed.
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Parcon argued that stigma comes from "moralizing abortion."

And one of the culprits, advocates say, is the Catholic Bishops
Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
"You can't do that [abortion], kill a baby, you're terminating human
life," said Father Dave Clay, CBCP Assistant Executive Secretary of
the Commission on Family and Life.
For Clay, this is why abortion happens: "The girl doesn't mind
getting pregnant because she doesn't want to lose the guy. And
the guy wants to have sex because it's enjoyable. That's young
people. She'll abort just because she wants to keep the guy,
because the guy wants her to abort the baby."
To prevent this from happening, Clay said that schools should
teach "how wrong abortion is" by showing pictures of the "baby in
the womb in different stages." The priest argued that this and
natural family planning should be the focus of sex education, not
artificial contraception.
"If we limit sexuality education to gestation and if it's focused on
anti-abortion, then that's not sexuality education," argued Parcon,
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adding that the focus should be on equipping students with their

rights and rights-based information.
The Philippines has a lot of problems on its plate, with issues like
abortion getting little to no attention.
But abortion happens. It's just unfortunate that the ones
happening in the Philippines are unsafe, a far cry from the rest of
the world where they're safe, normal, and drama-free.
"It's 2015 and they still think it's okay to abort babies," Clay said.
This sentiment, however, is reversed by women's rights
advocates: It's 2015 and you still think abortion is wrong.

Rappler.com
Got stories to tell? Share your ideas and stories on women and
development with move.ph@rappler.com. Speak up on
#GenderIssues!

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