Mary Louisse S.

Inguillo
11481226
Week 10

Word Count: 493 words

In a study conducted by the World Health Organization, each day about 800 women die1 globally
due to complications brought about pregnancy and child birth. A significant portion of these daily death
count occurs in low-resourced and developing countries which has no efficient and responsive maternal-
related health regulations. In the Philippines alone, in the year 2015, there were more than 1,721
registered maternal death.2 Acknowledging the essential role played by women in nation building and the
natural course of reproduction, the United Nations on Human Rights encourage States to honor their
obligations to respect and respect of women to reproductive health3.

In the Philippines there are 13 sexual reproductive health rights give to women. With regard to a
woman’s right to autonomy, women are given the right to decide whether she want to have children and
when she wants to become a parent.4 The advocacy to enact a sound reproductive health law in the
Philippines can be traced during the 11th Congress of 1999. The 1999 Reproductive health bill gives
couples access to reproductive health services, including family planning5. While the initial bill and all
other subsequent bill which followed suit cannot be considered as a perfect law and does not address the
issue completely, the fact remains that there is a compelling necessity to strengthen the right of women to
make informed and knowledgeable decisions concerning their fertility. The year 2012 was a significant
period for the proponents of Reproductive Health because it was the year when the Reproductive Health
Bill was signed into a law to what is now known as Rep Act No. 10354 or the Responsible Parenthood
and Reproductive Health Act of 2012.6 However, years after the bill has been passed into a law, hospital
services remain inaccessible to most of the public especially those living in the rural areas of the country.
The development and full implementation of the Reproductive Health Law was also derailed by
aggressive efforts by both civilian and religious groups to challenge the constitutionality of the law.
Indeed, their various challenges to the law succeeded as shown in various cases decided by the Supreme
Court.

1World Health Organization. 2015.Materal Mortality Ratio, http://www.who.int/gho/maternal_health/en/

2 Philiipine Statistics Authority.2015. Deaths in the Philippines, 2015, https://psa.gov.ph/content/deaths-philippines-2015-0
3 United Nations Human Rights. Office of the High Commissioner. July 1, 2015. Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights,

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Women/WRGS/Pages/HealthRights.aspx
4 Department of Health: FHO. 13 Sexual Reproductive Health Rights of Women, https://www.doh.gov.ph/node/1377
5Fonbuena, Carmela. December 30 2012. RH Law: The long and tough road, https://www.rappler

.com/newsbreak/18730-rh-law-the-long-and-rough-road
6 Rep. Act no. 10354 (2012)
 Among the provisions struck down by the Supreme Court was the provision granting minors, who
have already given birth or suffered miscarriage, access to family planning services even without prior
parental consent. This ruling of the Court sparked various discourse arguing the benefits of granting
adolescent women, who have already given birth or had miscarriage, access to family planning
consultation. The International Center for Research on Women, in pushing for the grant of access to
adolescent argued that while many of the sexually active adolescents want to avoid pregnancy they
however lack knowledge or resources to make informed decisions regarding their reproduction.7 In order
to promote informed and consented decisions with regard to reproduction, adolescents must also be
granted access to reproductive health and family planning services by the Government.

7International Center for Research on Women. 2016. Adolescents and Family Planning: What the Evidence Show.
https://www.icrw.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/140701-ICRW-Family-Planning-Rpt-Web.pdf