Pre-marital sex, rape, incest, health related problems and poverty. These are the main grounds why women undergo abortion. Most countries legalize the abortion process following certain permits, regulations and restrictions or the so called ‘Abortion Law’. Although this law varies across different countries that permits abortion. Here in the Philippines, abortion is a very disputatious issue that concerns the government and the church. Certain groups and organizations came to light due to abortion and the people are divided, either ‘Pro-Life’ or ‘Pro-Choice”.
Philippines is considered to be one of the most religious country in Asia. It is also known to be a Christian country but for over a century, Filipino women have been undergoing abortion illegally because the country doesn’t acknowledge and allow the method of abortion. Hanna Hindstrom (2011) highlighted that one in six women who obtain illegal procedure in the Philippines suffer complications and many of them die. This is because abortion has been criminalized in the Philippines. However, 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. Through the Penal Code of 1870 under Spanish colonial rule abortion was criminalized, 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. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, 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.
Furthermore, the fact that abortion is prescribed allowed the people to bring the method underground. Drugs like misoprostol are sold in the black market together with the traditional medicines and makeshift services (Hindstrom, 2011). This stands for the Pro-Choice group, ironically, by banning the legalization of safe abortion in our country, women are placed under the use of unsanitary and outdated techniques that leads to the country’s maternal mortality in the 6th highest within Southeast Asia as of 2013 as reported by UNICEF. Reducing this number can only be helped by legalizing abortion in the country. Bing Parcon of the Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights clarified that abortion is a medical procedure done by professionals and experienced healthcare providers. However, it becomes unsafe when you do it by yourself when you know nothing, or by consulting hilots or non-experts (Rappler, 2015).
Considering that the Philippines is under the title of ‘Third World Country’, the problem in poverty is rampant as well. The inability to support the pregnancy in financial terms creates a big impact as a factor in committing abortion. Being pregnant requires money and a stable job, in this state women are vulnerable so with the baby and having enough money is a must specially when complications takes over. Here, women seek out abortion as the only way. The thought is the same with the concept of pre-marital sex which results to unwanted pregnancy. This is common to teenagers in our society today. Afraid of the consequences and shame brought by the pregnancy, they see abortion as an escape. Since abortion is illegal, teens take the help of non-professionals to handle the job which is very risky. Pro-Choice organizations debate the approval of abortion to minimize these risks and to control the deaths of women due to the misuse and misunderstanding of the procedures and methods of abortion.
On the contrary, Pro-Life advocates rebates that abortion is immoral. Abortion is taking away the life of an unborn child, a child that should have been a part of the world. It is unacceptable to kill an innocent child. Aborting a fetus is snatching a life that should have been lived happily. For those who engaged in pre-marital sex, aborting a baby is not a choice because in the first place they should’ve known the consequences after they did that. The fetus itself is not liable for its parents’ actions. They should have taken full responsibility for their action. Parents who abort their child gives them full liability which gives them no right to interfere with the child’s right to live and exist.
Abortion can be a threat to the mother’s life. Regardless if its legal or illegal. The problem with abortion is that, there is a possibility of causing unexpected infections or complications on a patients’ uterus which could cause infection, internal bleeding, scarring and having a torn cervix that leads to cervical cancer (Abortion Risks Louisiana and Texas Depart of State Health, n.d.). Aside from that other side effect may take place, such as injury to the bladder, hole in the uterus, hemorrhage and inability to get pregnant. In other words, women who undergo abortion has a possibility of no longer having the ability to conceive as well as bear a child in the future, and if they do, future pregnancies would have further complications as opposed to women who didn’t have an abortion.
According to Unicef 250,000 women die every year because of legal and illegal abortions: 75,000 of them die of selfinflicted abortions; 75,000 die of convulsions; and the other 100,000 die of blood poisoning caused by an infection of the uterus (Abortion Should not be Legalized, n.d.). With these in list of negative resultsof abortion will government still proceed to the legalization of abortion here in the Philippines? We hope not.
Abortion is MURDER! No matter how you see it. Rev. Christine Robinson (2005) stated that human life is precious and to be valued as much as one’s freedom. Therefore, on the case of rape and incest induced pregnancies due to child abuse and molestation, we would recommend that women should keep the child until she gives birth then give the baby up for adoption. In that way, the baby’s right to live isn’t violated. Abortion is still a choice that a woman has the power to take over. A woman has the power to give life but not the power to take it. “women must realize that the situation, whether their fault or not, will not be resolved by killing an innocent being.” (Marked by teachers, 2015)
In the context of human law and the eternal law abortion is an immoral act that should never be argued whether to be legalized or not. Health wise, yes, abortion takes care of the welfare of women, but how about the welfare of the babies? Women are not the only ones affected by abortion no matter what the case is. Once a woman is pregnant, she doesn’t own her body anymore, she and the baby owns it. In the view of morality, abortion is morally bad, why? There are cases in which it can’t be helped, like miscarriage and other healthcare impediments that hinder pregnancy. Considering all of those situations and even the intention. The intention to either save the woman or the baby, or the unintentional miscarriage or any form of accident concerning the mother and the baby. Even if the situation and the intention is good but the act is abortion, which is clearly killing an innocent life. Then, whatever your reason in undertaking abortion, it is still immoral. It will always be immoral. Marked by teachers (2015) said that if women can see the value of having a child and saving a life, then maybe those silent screams can be quieted.
Created: April 4, 2018 (THOELOGY 4)
Sinag 