Vol. 81/No. 23 June 12, 2017
Philippines’ women unite in struggle for legal abortion
AND JANET ROTH
Pinsan, established in 2014, brings together 10 organizations to advance the struggle for women’s rights and decriminalize abortion. In January 2016 the group hosted the first public meeting in recent years to discuss women’s right to choose in the Philippines.
Abortion is illegal here even in cases of rape, fetal impairment or where the pregnancy poses a threat to the woman’s life. There are only five other nations in the world where abortion is illegal under all circumstances — El Salvador, Malta, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua — and the Vatican.
“There are over 600,000 abortions a year in a country with a population of over 100 million,” Tani told us. They are performed clandestinely and usually in unsafe conditions. An estimated two in every three women who have an abortion experience complications.
A woman charged for inducing an abortion can face up to six years in prison. Someone assisting can face up to 20 years. Police carry out sting operations against those suspected of performing abortions. News reports of arrests, prosecutions and convictions of women and providers on abortion charges are common.
Mary Jean Lagmay, a 48-year-old nurse, was arrested for performing an abortion in a police entrapment operation Nov. 16, inside the Vigare Clinic in Laoag City, 250 miles north of Manila. Police have since closed the clinic.
The Philippines is a majority Catholic country where the church hierarchy wields strong political influence and all attempts to roll back the law have failed.
“The constitution states that the life of the unborn and of the woman are equally protected,” so hospitals are required to provide for women who need medical care following an abortion, Pinsan member Kristine Chan said. The numbers are so great that at the Fabella Hospital in Manila there is a sign saying “post-abortion care ward.” This is one of the busiest maternity facilities in the world and delivery rooms are overcrowded. Mothers are forced to share beds, as are their newborn babies.
The Philippines is the only Asia-Pacific country where the rate of teen pregnancies rose over the last two decades. Single women have greater difficulties than married women in accessing contraceptives. The morning after pill Postinor was banned in 2001.
In 2012 the Reproductive Health Law was passed to provide greater access to contraceptive services, counseling and sex education. But the Catholic Church vehemently opposed full implementation of the law and it has been stalled by government officials. The Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order on certain provisions of the bill in 2015, limiting women’s contraceptive choices. A recent Commission on Population statement warned that if it’s not lifted birth control devices could be unavailable by 2020.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, in opposition to the Catholic hierarchy, says he supports making available contraceptives like condoms. But he has spoken out against abortion rights.
“Abortion is a reality for Filipino women,” Claire Padilla, a lawyer and Pinsan spokesperson, told Rappler, an online news site. The fact that abortion is illegal has not deterred women, she said, “it has only made it more dangerous.” Women who are poor, young or live in rural areas are most likely to resort to unsafe self-induced abortions.
“We believe that sexual and reproductive health rights are human rights.” Padilla said in a May 28 Pinsan statement. “If women cannot control their own bodies, including their right to access safe abortion, they cannot exercise other civil, political, economic, social or cultural rights.”
“Now more than ever,” Padilla said, those who support women’s rights “must join the fight everywhere.”
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