We are presented today with a grave dilemma whose consequences are perilous to not only one life but

two. As lawyers, it is our task to consider every particle of the circumstances in order to come up with a
course of action that is beneficial to our client’s best interest. And to my mind, upholding a mother’s life
is the most important.

Our Constitution emphasizes the role of the family in nation building and as the primary societal unit of
the nation. Were we to advise or permit this grieving mother to continue this dangerous pregnancy, we
would be condoning the death of two human lives.

It may be necessary to delve a little bit into the legality of abortion before we pronounce our firm’s final
opinion on this matter. We may fear a criminal backlash for advising my dear friend’s wife to go on with
an abortion, but this time we have the law on our side. While the RPC criminalizes any form of abortion,
we can look to Article 11 (4) in supporting our stance that we are advising the wife to go through with
the abortion in order to avoid a greater injury or peril, more specifically—her death. This can be seen as
a justifying circumstance.

Those who might question the morality of this opinion have to consider this: Which would be more
immoral, having an unborn child die in order to give the mother another chance at future childbirth or
having both the mother and the baby die altogether? Because who knows? There might be some new
medical procedure that can cure mitral valve stenosis within her lifetime.

While it is our duty to uphold the law and the Constitution, doing so out of a strict sense of justice is
missing the point. The law was created for the benefit of the people it governs. If upholding the law for
the sake of upholding it will do more injury to a person, then what is the point of having rules in the first
place? This is why exceptions are made. We are not machines programmed only to follow the letter of
the law, but humans capable of understanding more than just what lies in the surface. The spirit of the
law is superior to the letter, which is why in this case we must let the spirit of justice prevail.

The point in delving into the criminal aspect of abortion is this: Would we, as lawyers, be liable for
advising a person to take a course of action that could prevent a greater evil or injury from occurring? To
my mind, no. We are acting for the greater good. For Manuel to have a life with his wife instead of
having nothing at all. Besides, adoption is always an option for them and if they consider it, I’m sure they
would give that one child the happiest life possible.