Pimentel opposes legalized abortion proposal

Opposition Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. opposed yesterday a proposal to legalize abortion by granting women the right to terminate unwanted pregnancies .

In a speech delivered during a public forum on reproductive health rights bill at the Divine Word College in Legazpi City, Pimentel said House Bill 4110 and Senate Bill 2325 should be rejected because they seek to promote abortion in the country.

"The two bills would make all kinds of contraceptives available to women regardless whether those contraceptives are actually abortifacients," Pimentel said.

Pimentel said that when HB 4110 was first filed on Dec. 19, 2001, the original explanation for the bill advocated the legalization of abortion.

He said HB 4110 was withdrawn only because of the furious public outcry and its authors changed the bill’s tenor to a less confrontational tone.

"The proposed legislation, by harping on the supposedly high statistics of women dying of abortion-related causes, would logistically lead to the establishment of so-called safe abortion facilities although this is not categorically stated in the bill," the senator said. – Jose Rodel Clapano