Lawmakers’ group does not support call to legalize abortion

A Media Statement of the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc.
August 6, 2010

The Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD) expresses strong opposition on the call of a group for Congress to pass a law that would legalize abortion in the Philippines.

PLCPD, however, is firmly pushing for the passage of the proposed Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Population Development bills currently filed in Congress so as to allow couples to have access to legal and medically safe family planning methods that will reduce unplanned pregnancies which eventually will lessen the incidence of abortions in the country.

Legalization of abortion is not the right approach to address the increasing number of eleven (11) mothers dying every day due to pregnancy and pregnancy-related complications.

The legal and culturally-sensitive approach in reducing maternal deaths is for women and couples to practice family planning, provide skilled birth attendants to every delivery, and establish basic and emergency obstetric care which is accessible in urban and rural settings. PLCPD further emphasized that voluntary family planning can reduce maternal deaths by 20 to 35% (WHO, 1995). These can be ‘institutionalized’ by enactment into law of the proposed RH bills.

PLCPD and authors of RH bills stressed further that the proposed measure does not consider abortion as a family planning method. In fact, in the Guiding Principles of the bill states “nothing in this Act changes the law on abortion”. PLCPD however emphasizes that though abortion is not legal, the government should ensure that all women needing post-abortion care must be treated in a humane and non-judgmental manner.

We call on the media and the public not to confuse the campaign for the legalization of abortion in the Philippines as part of the reproductive health advocacy campaign.

To reiterate, abortion is not part of PLCPD’s proposed measures on reproductive health and that the organization is not a part, and will not be a part, of any group that will call for the legalization of abortion in the Philippines.