“...

Take chances and never have regrets, because at one point everything you did
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-Marilyn Monroe

A Case Study on Abortion | 2

Introduction

For over a century, abortion has been criminalized in our country. The criminal
provisions on abortion do not contain any exceptions allowing abortion, including to save
the life of the pregnant woman or to protect her health. Abortion was criminalized
through the Penal Code of 1870 under Spanish colonial rule, and the criminal provisions
were incorporated into the Revised Penal Code passed in 1930 under U.S. occupation of
the Philippines. The criminalization of abortion has not prevented abortion, but instead
has made the procedure unsafe and potentially deadly for the over half a million women
each year who try to terminate their pregnancies. In 2008 alone, the Philippines’ criminal
abortion was estimated to result in the deaths of at least 1000 women and complications
for 90,000 more. -Laura McCleery

Because of the lack of access to safe abortion, Filipino women with life-
threatening pregnancies have no choice but to risk their lives, either through unsafe
abortion or through continuation of high-risk pregnancies. Poor women are particularly
vulnerable to unsafe abortion and its complications, as they face barriers in obtaining
effective means of family planning and lack access to reproductive health services.
Common physical complications that arise from the use of such crude and dangerous
methods include hemorrhage, sepsis, peritonitis, and trauma to the cervix, vagina, uterus,
and abdominal organs.

The criminal abortion ban has stigmatized the procedure in the medical
community, so that women face tremendous barriers and significant abuse when they
seek treatment for abortion complications. Filipino women who seek treatment for
complications from unsafe abortion have repeatedly reported that the stigma around
abortion means that healthcare workers are unwilling to provide care or only treat women
after “punishing” women who have undergone abortions by threatening to report them to
the police, harassing women verbally and physically, or delaying care. Filipino women
who have undergone unsafe abortions for health reasons report that healthcare workers
have not been sympathetic to their situation, but instead continue to abuse and threaten
them.

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 The stigma surrounding abortion is perpetuated by the Government of the
Philippines’ acquiescence to the demands of the Catholic hierarchy, including the
Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). The strength of the Catholic
hierarchy’s influence in the Philippines was evident in 1987, when Catholic bishops and
leaders succeeded in making the 1987 Constitution the first Philippines constitution ever
to recognize a government obligation to protect “the life of the unborn from conception.”
The Government of the Philippines continues to permit the CBCP to undermine women’s
health even today by conceding to its demands to deprive women of a range of
reproductive health services, including access to contraception for poor women,
comprehensive family planning counseling, and sex education.

While therapeutic abortion is allowed in the Philippines to save the life of a

woman or to prevent disability, there various other reasons why Filipino women undergo
abortion – why they induce abortion:

 Economic
 Inability to afford the cost of raising a child or an additional child – 75% of the
women
 Having enough children or their pregnancy came too soon after their last birth –
more than half of the women
 Too young – 46% were women younger than 25
 Health risks – nearly one-third of the women
 Rape – 13% of the women
 Pregnancy not supported by partner or family – one-third of the women

There is a very high incidence of rape in the Philippines. A Filipino woman or girl
is raped every 58 minutes, and about one in every 9 Filipino women who induce abortion
are rape survivors. Some women and girl-children who became pregnant resulting from
rape were forced to resort to clandestine and unsafe abortions to end their unwanted
pregnancies while others have tried to commit suicide. (Padilla, C.R. 2018)

Research Question

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A soul for a soul: Is the life lived worth keeping at the consequence of losing a new soul?

Discussion of Theory

There are four major theories which guide us in determining whether an act is ethical or
moral. First of which is the Virtue Ethics where it requires the person to act in the right
manner following the golden mean, how well of a human you are. Second, Categorical
Imperative, a human act should follow a maxim (universal moral rule) in accordance with
the principles of universality and humanity. Third, the Natural law, it is where through
the contemplation of the Divine, and with accordance to the Eternal law one can consider
an act to be good. Fourth, Utilitarianism, it is where a person seeks to increase pleasure &
happiness and, at the same time, reduce pain & suffering. Each theory offers grounds for
guiding us in determining whether an act could be considered right or wrong. With the
help of these theories, we will evaluate how the issue of abortion stands in morality and
ethics.

In our study, we want to eliminate first which of the theories seem to fail in giving
convincing reasons for an act of abortion to be morally right and find the best theory to
use in evaluating the case of abortion. The theory of Virtue Ethics fails to address the
issue of abortion mainly because it opens an arbitrary argument in questioning the proper
function of a human being. The primary subject in abortion is the mother and the unborn
child. We can’t choose whether we would be in favour of the mother or the unborn child
and in order to avoid biased arguments we will dismiss the theory on Virtue Ethics.
Another theory that is arbitrary is the Categorical imperative. The arguments presented
with deontological speculations could vary greatly in the personal motive and experience
of the mother. Also, by principle of Universality, there can’t be a universal law that could
mutually benefit everyone for each law is set to its own geography. The principle of
humanity is also arbitrary and is very dependent on the mother’s view on her unborn
child which could cause biasing from the mother. The Theory of Natural law can’t also
give an adequate moral discourse. As Allan said in her paper, “acting in accordance with
some deity’s commands or to act with some natural law, either arbitrary, is a simple

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appeal to authority, which itself is arbitrary or a relapse to egoism.” What Allan was
trying to say was that using natural law may cause a risky judgement that treats self-
interest as the foundation of morality. Also, the concept of good through contemplation is
highly subjective to the person contemplating.

Utilitarianism, particularly, act-utilitarianism is the most practical theory in discussing

abortion as it refers to judge each individual case on its own merits, meaning abortion
would be very much up to the mother, and what the consequences would be for her life
(Holly B.). In a utilitarian system, the rightness or wrongness of the act in question turns
mainly not on the effects of the act on the agent, nor on the being(s) directly affected by
the act, but on the less direct effects on the community at large (Abortion). The theory of
Utilitarianism covers the right and wrong effects on the community at large. But our
study won’t be evaluating the effects of abortion for all of humankind, but rather only
those of which re directly involved- the parents, the doctor, and the unborn child.

There are multiple approaches in dealing with abortion though utilitarianism. First of
which is by the principle of utility, also the basic definition of utilitarianism, it states that
actions or behaviours are right in so far as they promote happiness or pleasure for t
greatest number, wrong as they tend to produce unhappiness or pain. Evaluating abortion
in this view alone would be narrow-minded because we cannot determine the value of
happiness of either the mother or the unborn child and judge which one outweighs the
other. To aid the view of the principle, with the help of act-utilitarian, we may be able to
establish a reasonable argument the supports abortion. Act utilitarian states that a person's
act is morally right if and only if it produces the best possible results in that specific
situation. There are already conducted studies in the effects of abortion to those who are
directly affected and how it affects the community.

Let us first consider cases where the unborn child if predicted to have gross deformities
in its future life and whether it would be worth living. The existence the child will result
in a definite decrease in mixed utility. According to Allan(2015), a utilitarian will not
encourage its continued existence and that act-utilitarian considerations dictate that its
existence ought to be terminated for its own sake.

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One of the studies shows that the average cost of raising a child in the United States is
almost $13,000 per year. Hence, by forgoing a child (including aborting a fetus) one can
save and maintain, on average, between 6 and 65 people per year (Allan, 2015). This tells
us that if we were to act for the benefit of the greatest number, it seems better off that
instead of spending the mother’s money to sustain one that is her child; the mother should
have been able to sustain more lives by donating to her money to charity.

A journal by Laura M. entitled Facts on Abortion in the Philippines: Criminalization and

a General Ban on Abortion, says that In 2008 alone, the Philippines’ criminal abortion
ban was estimated to result in the deaths of at least 1,000 women and complications for
90,000 more. Physicians and midwives who perform abortions in the Philippines with the
consent of a pregnant woman may face up to six years in prison under the Revised Penal
Code. Because of this, women with life threatening pregnancies have no choice but to
risk their lives, either through unsafe abortion or through continuation of high-risk
pregnancies. The lives of these women could have been saved if they were properly
instructed by the doctors in their attempts in abortion. Public hospitals and hospital staffs
are often delayed in aborting because some of them find it very distasteful. So when a
woman decides to have an abortion, the longer it is the more dangerous it is to terminate
the fetus (Allan, 2015). As a utilitarian, if abortion were to be legal and be a service
openly offered by the hospitals then it would have minimized the pain and suffering for
the women and the unwanted child.

Conclusion

Abortion is a social, medical and a religious issue. It is entrenched into the legal
laws of every country in the world in one way or another. It has a place in the lives of
individuals directly or indirectly. Ethical values arise out of such deeds as abortion that
determines the direction that one chooses. Other mechanisms that control abortion
include the legal and religious aspects of society.

Many women will seek to terminate an unwanted pregnancy by abortion whether

it is legal or not. Although the mortality and morbidity associated with illegal abortion
cannot be fully measured, they are clearly greater than the risks associated with legal

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abortion. Evidence suggests that legislation and practices that permit women to obtain
abortion in proper medical surroundings will lead to fewer deaths and a lower rate of
medical complications than restrictive legislation and practices. There are advantages and
disadvantages of abortion of almost equal measure. Abortion presents a double-edged
sword in its advantages and disadvantages to individuals and society. It should be after
careful consideration that abortion should be done.

Of the hundreds of thousands of Filipino women who have unintended

pregnancies each year, many face a difficult choice: either give birth to a child they are
not prepared or able to care for, or obtain a clandestine, and often unsafe, abortion.
Because abortion is highly stigmatized and punishable by law, it is extremely challenging
to directly estimate the number of abortions in the Philippines, as both women and
providers are likely to not report the procedure.

According to a national 2004 survey of women of reproductive age, individuals

who have abortions are similar to Filipino women overall: they are typically Catholic, are
married, are mothers and have at least a high school education. The most common reason
women identified for having an abortion—cited by nearly three in four—was the inability
to afford the cost of raising a child or an additional child. More than half of those who
had had an abortion said they underwent the procedure because they felt they already had
enough children or that their pregnancy came too soon after their last birth. Nearly one-
third of women felt that their pregnancy would endanger their health, and another third
believed that their partner or another family member did not want or support the
pregnancy. Perhaps most disturbingly, 13% of women who had had an abortion cited
pregnancy as a result of forced sex as their reason for getting an abortion.

Not surprisingly, larger proportions of poor women than of their non-poor

counterparts cited economic reasons for having an abortion, and roughly two-thirds of
women who had had an abortion were poor. Women younger than 25, who accounted for
46% of abortion attempts in the 2004 survey, also cited reasons related to their age—they
wanted to avoid interrupting their schooling, had problems with their partner or
considered themselves too young to have a baby. Among all the women interviewed,

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economic reasons and being unmarried or too young were cited as the most important
reasons for why women obtain abortions, illustrating that many Filipino women who
have not had an abortion understand why other women choose to have one.

Most women who had had an abortion had discussed the matter with at least one
person, but fewer than half had discussed it with their partner, suggesting that in many
cases women feel that their partner will not be supportive of their situation or
decision. Nearly one-third of women who get an abortion do not tell anyone, highlighting
how stigmatized abortion is in the Philippines. Providing the necessary support in the
form of financial aid and psychological support to mothers contemplating abortion could
serve as the best way to curb such deaths resulting from abortion.

Recommendation

The passage of the Reproductive Health Law is a milestone that will help to
reduce maternal mortality and improve the overall health and lives of Filipino women
and their families. With full implementation of the law, nearly all Filipino women—
including young, unmarried, poor and rural women—should have access to reproductive
health information and services that help them to plan and care for their families.

To fully realize the potential of the law and to further promote women’s health,
Filipino national, regional and local policymakers, as well as government agencies,
should:

 Educate the public about modern contraceptives and the risks of unintended
pregnancy and unsafe abortion.
 Ensure adequate funding for the full range of contraceptive methods, as well as
counseling, so that women can find and use the methods that are most suitable to
their needs.

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  Eliminate barriers to contraception among vulnerable populations—such as poor
women, rural women and adolescents—by making clinics more accessible and
youth-friendly and by providing family planning at low or no cost.
 Integrate contraceptive services with other reproductive health services, and
provide contraceptive counseling and services for women in postpartum and post-
abortion care settings.
 Destigmatize post-abortion care among providers, to ensure fair and humane
treatment, and among the population as a whole, to encourage women to seek
timely post-abortion care.
 Train more medical providers, including midlevel personnel, in the use of safer
and less invasive methods of post-abortion care, and ensure availability of these
methods in relevant health facilities.
 Ensure that all women have access to emergency obstetric and neonatal care.
 Study the impact of the current abortion ban, and explore allowing abortion at
least in exceptional cases, such as to save a woman’s life or preserve her health, in
cases of rape or incest, and where there is gross fetal deformity incompatible with
life.

In the Philippines, most unintended pregnancies resulting in abortion are

preventable, as is nearly all abortion-related mortality and morbidity. Better information
on sexual and reproductive health, as well as access to effective contraception, can lower
the incidence of unintended pregnancy, thereby reducing the number of Filipino women
who resort to unsafe abortion and experience the related health consequences. Investing
in women’s health yields enormous benefits not only to women’s status and productivity,
but also to their families and society as a whole.

One must all work to eliminate abortion stigma and religious and personal
prejudices against abortion, as abortion is a reality for Filipino women. Health care
providers must set in place institutional safeguards and protocols to ensure patient
confidentiality, privacy, and protection of women’s human rights. Women who suffer
complications from unsafe abortion must be treated humanely and with compassion and

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should not be threatened with prosecution and to prevent further disability resulting from
denial of access to safe and legal abortion.

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