Why I am for HB 4110

I have been receiving text messages saying I should be writing strongly against the passage of House Bill 2110 because it legalizes abortion even for 13-year-old teenagers without the consent of their parents. I could not believe that such a bill would propose abortion. I secured a copy of the bill, and true enough, nothing in the bill legalizes abortion for teenagers. I'm just surprised that my friends who texted me – some from media, some with masters degrees – have come to that conclusion. I suspect that the church and pro-life members have been sending them the erroneous message just to strike down the bill.

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Let me tell you what HB4110 (or the Reproductive Health Care Act) is all about.

The bill is premised on Filipino women's reproductive health realities. The leading cause of death among women of reproductive age is related to pregnancy and child bearing. Post-partum hemorrhage tops this list, followed by hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (pre-eclampsia and eclampasia).

One of six pregnancies in the Philippines ends up in illegal abortion because they are either unplanned or unwanted. There are an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 cases of illegal abortions each year, many of which end up with complications such as sepsis or death.

At least 2 million married women of reproductive age want to practice family planning but cannot do so because of a variety of reasons, including lack of access to family planning services.

There are an estimated 7 million women of reproductive age who are considered high risk for pregnancy because they are: too young (less than 18 years old); have four or more pregnancies; have closely spaced pregnancies; or are concurrently ill. According to the bill's authors, even if they are faced with the above risks, 2.6 million of these women are expected to become pregnant each year.

In addition there are alarming statistics pertaining to the state of health for Filipinos. These include a Maternal Mortality rate of 172 deaths per 100,000 live births, and an Infant Mortality Rate of 36 deaths per 1,000 live birth. These two rates are one of the highest rates in the world.

In view of the above, the bill seeks to improve the health and well-being of Filipinos by upholding their right to reproductive health care and their right to reproductive self-determination. The bill pays "special attention to women and girl-children" as reproductive health is recognized as a fundamental aspect of women's and girl-children‚s well-being. Without regular access to safe, high-quality services, women and girl-children become vulnerable to a host of health complications, which may include death or injury during childbirth, sepsis, unwanted pregnancy, and sexually transmissible infections (STIs).

It cites international instruments to which the Philippines is a signatory, that declare that people have the right to reproductive health care. The Philippine government thus has "a duty to ensure the availability of reproductive health services and to remove exiting legal barriers to reproductive health care. Comprehensive reproductive health care should include measures to promote safe motherhood, care for those with HIV/AIDS and other STIs, prevention and management of abortion and its complications, infertility treatments, and a full range of quality contraception."

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The bill calls for an Integrated National Policy and Program on Reproductive Health which shall "create an enabling environment wherein an integrated reproductive health care policy and program become positive instruments" for the realization of the sexual and reproductive health and rights of all individuals including their right to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children, their right make decisions concerning reproduction without discrimination, coercion and violence, their right to a full range of safe, high quality, accessible, and affordable sexual and reproductive health services and products, and universal access to sexual and reproductive heath and information and education.

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The bill recognizes that the Philippine Constitution does not allow abortion as a family planning method. But, it mandates that women "should have access to quality services for the management of complications arising from abortion," that laws containing punitive measures against women who have undergone illegal abortions and those aiding the women who have undergone such abortions, "to allow consensual abortion under exceptional circumstances." It says that "programs addressing prevention and management of abortion complications should be in place including programs that make sure that abortion is not being used as a family planning method."

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Touching on adolescents, HB4110 calls for the creation of "comprehensive, age-specific" health programs, including information and services addressing reproductive health, STIs, gender roles, sexuality and responsible use of contraceptives. Teenagers should have access to contraception and maternal health care regardless of martial status, that they should have access to sex education and life-skills programs. That special attention is given to teenagers is made to reduce the incidence of teen-age pregnancy and other adolescent reproductive health problems.

So, where in the bill is it said that abortion is allowed for teenagers, even without the consent of their parents?

My dear texters, please obtain a copy of the bill from the House of Representatives and see how your informants have twisted the facts so HB4110 will not be passed.

To be commended, and not condemned, are the authors of HB4110: Principal authors Representatives Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, Darlene Antonino-Custodio, Krisel Lagman-Luistro, and Loretta Ann P. Rosales; and co-authors Representatives Carlos M. Padilla, Gilbert C. Remulla, Nerissa Soon-Ruiz, Liza Maza, J.R. Nereus O. Acosta, Josefina M. Joson, Emilio C. Macias, Filomena San Juan and Gabarielle Calizo.