A POSITION PAPER ON LEGALIZATION OF ABORTION IN THE PHILIPPINES

BY:

Introduction

Abortion is when the pregnancy is ended so that it results in the birth of child, sometimes it called
termination of pregnancy. Abortion is the issue that cares for women with an unplanned or unwanted
pregnancy. BPAS state that they treat thousands of women who’ve decided that abortion is the right
choice for them, and give advice and counselling to women who don’t know what to do next. There are
two types of abortion treatment, “medical and surgical” abortion, and some of the religious people
disagreed of legal abortion because they know that abortion is a crime according to the catholic church,
in the killing of fetus is equivalent of killing human being. Study of co-written by free economics co-
author Steven D. Levitt. PhD, legalization of abortion can reduce crime, women who have abortion are
those most at risk to give birth to children who would engage in criminal activity. In this paper will show
my agreement to legalization of abortion in the Philippines because it can reduce criminality.

Counter Argument

In the catholic church abortion is a criminalization because they believe in the bible that when kill the
fetus in the embryo of women or when you kill the fetus the equivalent of that is killing a human being.

Article 11 of the 1987 Philippine recognition says, in part “section 12”. The state recognizes the sanctity
of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic of autonomous social institution. It
shall equally protect the life of the mother of the unborn from conception.

The act is criminalized by Philippine law. Article 256, 258 and of the revised penal code of the Philippines
mandate imprisonment for women who undergo abortion.

Women who receive abortions are less likely to suffer mental health problems than women denied
abortions. In 2013 peer viewed study comparing the mental health of women denied abortion found
that women who denied abortion to “felt more regret and anger and less relief and happiness” than
women who had abortion felt was the right decision.
Abortion reduces crime according to Steven Levitt legal abortion has contributed significally

To recent crime reduction, women who have abortion are those most at risk to give birth to children who
would engage in criminal activity and women who had control over the timing of childbearing were more
likely to raise children in optimal environments.

Women who had denied abortions are more likely to become unemployed, to be on public welfare, to be
below on poverty line, and to become a victim of domestic violence

Argument

Women who are denied are more likely to become unemployed, to be on public welfare to be
below on poverty line, and to become a domestic violence. According to the university of California at
San Francisco study found that women who had turn away from abortion clinic they had passed the
gestational limit imposed by the clinic, three times more likely to be below on poverty level two years’
letter than women who were able to obtain abortions. By American psychological association (APA).

Abortions reduces welfare costs to tax payers according to the congressional budget office (CBO) it
evaluates a proposal anti-abortion bill that would ban all abortions nationwide after twenty weeks of
pregnancy, and found that the resulting additional births would increase. The federal deficit by $225
million over nine years, due to the increase need for Medicaid coverage. Many women seeking late term
abortions are economically disadvantage, their children are likely to require welfare assistance.
According to (AFDC).

Abortion gives to the pregnant women the abortion to choose not to bring fetuses with profound
abnormalities to full term some of the fetuses have such severe disorders that death is guaranteed
before or shortly after birth. These include anexcephex, in which organs developed outside the body
cavity. According to Deborah Anne Driscull, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the university
of Pennsylvania, said many couples don’t have the resources, don’t have the emotional stamina, don’t
have the family support (to raise a child with down syndromes.

Conclusion

The researcher agreed that the abortion in the Philippines should be legalized because abortion can help
women’s employed in the company, and it can help to reduce their taxies.it can also help to women’s
who lacks of means to manage her fertility, and lack to manage her life, the researcher want to legalized
abortion because this the right choice to get your dreams, aspiration responsibilities and commitment.
The abortion can prevent poverty, and decrease papulation.

Views on abortion, 1995-2022

While public support for legal abortion has fluctuated some in two decades of polling, it has remained
relatively stable over the past several years. Currently, 61% say abortion should be legal in all or most
cases, while 37% say it should be illegal in all or most cases.

Views on abortion by religious affiliation, 2022

About three-quarters of White evangelical Protestants (74%) think abortion should be illegal in all or
most cases.

By contrast, 84% of religiously unaffiliated Americans say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, as
do 66% of Black Protestants, 60% of White Protestants who are not evangelical, and 56% of Catholics.

Views on abortion by party identification, 2022

Six-in-ten Republicans and those who lean toward the Republican Party (60%) say abortion should be
illegal in all or most cases. By contrast, 80% of Democrats and those who lean toward the Democratic
Party say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

Views on abortion by political party and ideology, 2022

Conservative Republicans and Republican leaners are far more likely to say abortion should be illegal in
all or most cases than to say that it should be legal (72% vs. 27%). Among moderate and liberal
Republicans, 60% say abortion should be legal, while 38% say it should be illegal.

The vast majority of liberal Democrats and Democratic leaners support legal abortion (90%), as do seven-
in-ten conservative and moderate Democrats (72%).

Views on abortion by gender, 2022

Majorities of both men and women express support for legal abortion, though women are somewhat
more likely than men to hold this view (63% vs. 58%).
Views on abortion by race and ethnicity, 2022

Majorities of adults across racial and ethnic groups express support for legal abortion. About three-
quarters of Asian (74%) and two-thirds of Black adults (68%) say abortion should be legal in all or most
cases, as do 60% of Hispanic adults and 59% of White adults.

Views on abortion by age, 2022

Among adults under age 30, 74% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, as do 62% of adults in
their 30s and 40s. Among those in their 50s and early 60s, 55% express support for legal abortion, as do
54% of those ages 65 and older.

Views on abortion by level of education, 2022

Two-thirds of college graduates (66%) say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, as do 63% of
those with some college education. Among those with a high school degree or less education, 54% say
abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 44% say it should be illegal in all or most cases.

Source: Survey conducted March 7-13, 2022. Trend lines show aggregated data from polls conducted in
each year. Data from 2019 and later come from Pew Research Center’s online American Trends Panel;
prior data from telephone surveys. See report for more details on changes in survey mode. Question
wording can be found here, and information on the Pew Research Center’s polling methodology can be
found here. White, Black and Asian adults include those who report being one race and are not Hispanic.
Hispanics are of any race. Estimates for Asian adults are representative of English speakers only.

Abortion in the Philippines Documentary:

Agaw-Buhay (Fighting for Life) A teen-aged girl gets pregnant from rape. A poor woman, bleeding from
an abortion, collapses after being shunned by several hospitals. Despite legal and cultural prohibitions,
over half a million in the Philippines resort to abortion each year. These women do so under pain of
being maligned, ostracized and physically harmed to the point of losing their lives. Why do so many
assume so much risk? How much value does Philippine society put on

women’s lives? How should society respond, especially the health sector, which

holds itself to healing all? These issues are explained in this film which is based on the real-life stories of
four women: a teenager, a poor single mother, an ailing pregnant woman, and a young struggling doctor.
It captures their circumstances, their reasons, how they sought and had abortions, how they were
treated by health personnel, and the tragic deaths of two. Agaw-Buhay (Fighting for Life) literally
describes the tragic struggle of two women in the film. However, it also describes the life threat of
unsafe abortion to

over 1,500 women who daily face risks due to what they deem as “desperate reasons”. Finally, Agaw
-Buhay is a plea for a sober and objective re-weighing by

society of abortion and the true worth of women’s lives.

Reaction: A country that decides to declare abortions illegal should subsequently ensure that the
community and sexual education will be available to everyone as well as free contraceptive methods to
prevent unwanted pregnancies. Otherwise such government has no right to govern. More women in
politics

better understanding and empathy. Those are man-

made rule and doctors who don’t attend their patients

should lose their license-for sure. Abortion is not a case of choice, it is (for some people) a necessity to
survive

Despite legal and cultural prohibitions, over half a million women in the Philippines resort to abortion
each year. These women do so under pain of being maligned, ostracized and physically harmed to the
point of losing their lives. Why do so many assume so much risk? How much value does Philippine
society put on women’s lives? How should society respond, especially the health sector, which holds
itself to healing all?

These issues are explained in this film which is based on the real-life stories of four women: a teenager, a
poor single mother, an ailing pregnant woman, and a young struggling doctor. It captures their
circumstances, their reasons, how they sought and had abortions, how they were treated by health
personnel, and the tragic deaths of two. Thoughtful and challenging commentaries are provided by Prof.
Elizabeth Aguiling-Pangalangan, a professor of the UP College of Law; Dr. Junice L. D. Melgar, Executive
Director of Likhaan (which researched the stories); Dr. “Nilda”, an Obstetrician-Gynecologist who cared
for two of the women; Prof. Mary Racelis, a professor of the Ateneo Department of Sociology and
Anthropology; and Dr. Alberto Romualdez Jr., former Secretary of the Department of Health.

Manila’s Abortion Ban Is Killing Women

Roughly 1,000 women in the Philippines die every year from lack of safe terminations. Others go to jail.

In the eyes of the law, abortion is a crime. In the reality of women’s lives as told in tentative whispers
and in hushed conversations, abortion is an open secret.

The Philippines has one of the most restrictive laws when it comes to abortion. It is one of the remaining
countries where women who access abortion and the healthcare staff who provide abortion services can
be punished with fines and up to six years of imprisonment. There is no space for exceptions in cases of
rape or incest, and though therapeutic abortions or medically accepted reasons to save a woman’s life
are allowed, many doctors remain silent about this medical alternative.

Restricting abortion does not prevent it. Data shows that there were 610,000 induced abortions in the
Philippines in 2012. Abortion is an essential medical procedure that when done safely, is relatively low
risk. However, restricting abortion has forced women to seek underground and often unsafe abortions.
The consequence of this is the recorded 100,000 women hospitalized due to complications related to
unsafe abortions and resulting in 1,000 women dying.

Who are the women who may need an abortion? Far from the common representation of these women
as being poor, uneducated, loose women who have lost their moral compass, these women are just like
you and me. Studies show that 1 in 4 women will need an abortion by the time she reaches age 45. At
some point over the course of their reproductive lives, women may need to acces an abortion.

That’s because abortion as an essential medical procedure may be needed, for several reasons such as a
pregnancy jeopardizing the women’s health and life; the fetus won’t survive or will suffer life-threatening
complications; and spontaneous abortion which requires post abortion care. Other reasons include
failed birth control or instances of rape.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes abortion as an essential health service. The WHO
recently released Abortion Care Guidelines for the provision of abortion care. The WHO recommended
against laws and other regulations that restrict abortion by grounds and further recommended that
abortion be available on the request of the woman, girl, or other pregnant person.

Recently, abortion has come into the social discourse as an electoral issue.

Senatorial candidate Luke Espirtu came into the picture saying that it is time we stop controlling
women’s bodies and minds. “Now, women should decide,” Espiritu was quoted as saying. The Robredo
sisters, Aika and Tricia, also came forward with their own nuanced position on abortion.

there are various reasons a woman may need an abortion over the course of her life. Abortion is an
essential medical service. It should be treated as one
Philippine population is over 110 million. About 600,000 Filipino women get abortions every year, and
many turn to unlicensed doctors, use folk medicine, or attempt to self-induce.

Abortion in China and most countries is legal and done by medical professionals. In contrast, there are
twenty-four countries where abortion is illegal, including the Philippines.

We will review the arguments for abortion and against abortion.

We will cover the "pro choice" info first:

Every year, hundreds of thousands of Filipino women have a difficult choice: either give birth to a child
they may not be able to care for, try to find someone to raise the child for them, or obtain an abortion
illegally.

There are medical conditions where you have to abort the baby to save the life of the mother. Example:
Ectopic pregnancies --these make up about 2.7% of all pregnancy-related deaths.

Sometimes the woman is raped and does not want to raise the child. Sometimes there is incest.

Also perhaps she doesn't want anyone to know she is pregnant --so she wants an early abortion to hide
her pregnancy.

Sometimes the woman or her family has no money for raising a child or the father leaves the pregnant
mother and doesn't want to be responsible financially or emotionally.

In countries where abortion is illegal, a desperate pregnant woman might have instruments into their
cervix and uterus to cause an abortion, or take unregulated medications. This could lead to health
complications including the death of the mother.

And lastly the pro-choice movement asks, "Is pregnancy from rape or incest truly a Gift from God?"
If abortions are illegal, it means the government, not the parents, are the boss of the decision. But a boss
that is often ignored.

Here are the pro-life points.

Life begins at conception, making abortion murder. Legal abortion says to the world that "Life is
disposable, not sacred."

Each and every human life has inherent dignity, and thus must be treated with the respect due to a
human person.

I know we are not going to get rid of abortion. There are some things we can do to lower the rates,
however. We should reform the adoption and foster care system. We should make childbirth free.

If we can increase sexual education, access to birth control, health insurance for all mothers, and
improve our adoption systems we can decrease both legal and illegal abortions internationally.

The Philippines ranks 56th among 150 countries for the number of unintended pregnancies at 71 per
1,000 women annually. 51% of all pregnancies are unintended which is almost the same as the global
average. Dec 22, 2022