ANTI ABORTION LAWS & POLICIES IN THE PHILIPPINES

I.

HB No. 3667 also known as New Anti-Abortion Act of 2010,

authored by Manila Rep. Amado Bagatsing, seeks to impose the following: A maximum of 12 years imprisonment for abortion practiced by a physician or any medical professional. A pharmacist who sells or dispenses abortive drugs will also suffer the same penalty and a P100,000 fine. It also seeks to impose life imprisonment on persons found guilty of using violence to intentionally abort the pregnancy of a woman. Under the Revised Penal Code, such act is punishable with a maximum 17 to 20 years imprisonment. A maximum 12 years incarceration has been recommended in case intentional abortion has been consented to by the pregnant woman or by her parents. THE FOLLOWING ARE THE PROVISIONS IN THE REVISED PENAL CODE PERTAINING TO ABORTION: ARTICLE 256. INTENTIONAL ABORTION ELEMENTS: 1. That there is a pregnant woman; 2. That violence is exerted, or drugs or beverages administered, or that the accused otherwise acts upon such pregnant woman; 3. That as a result of the use of violence or drugs or beverages upon her, or any other act of the accused, the fetus dies, either in the womb or after having been expelled therefrom. 4. That the abortion is intended. ARTICLE 257. UNINTENTIONAL ABORTION. ELEMENTS: 1. That there is a pregnant woman; 2. That violence is used upon such pregnant woman without intending an abortion 3. That the violence is intentionally exerted; and 4. That as a result of the violence the fetus dies, either in the womb or after having been expelled therefrom

ARTICLE 258. ABORTION PRACTICED BY THE WOMAN HERSELF OR BY HER PARENTS. ELEMENTS: 1. That there is a pregnant woman who has suffered an abortion; 2. That the abortion is intended; and 3. That the abortion is caused by a. the pregnant woman herself b. any other person, with her consent, or c. any of her parents, with her consent for the purpose of concealing her dishonor. ARTICLE 259. ABORTION PRACTICED BY A PHYSICIAN OR MIDWIFE AND DISPENSING OF ABORTIVES. ELEMENTS: 1. That there is a pregnant woman who has suffered an abortion; 2. That the abortion is intended; 3. That the offender, who must be a physician or midwife, causes or assists in causing the abortion; and 4. That said physician or midwife takes advantage of his or her scientific knowledge or skill

II.

HB 3227 (The Moses Law): stopping abortion and child abuse

House Bill 3227 or "The Safe Haven Act or The Moses Law" (authored by Rep. Eduardo Zialcita) permits parents to entrust the custody of their babies, who are up to two months old, to any hospital, medical emergency facility, police or fire station and other government agencies. The "unwanted" babies will then be taken into the custody the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). The parents will not be required to give their names to the recipient of the child, and will be protected from arrest. Rep. Zialcita said he filed the bill "to address the moral degeneration of society as a result of the tragedies caused by abortion, child abuse, neglect and other forms of anti-life and anti-child acts."

III.

RH BILL or REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH BILLS

The Reproductive Health bills, or popularly known as RH bill, are Philippine Bills aiming to guarantee universal access to methods and information on birth control and maternal care. It is a way of helping people to be more advance, well prepared, and to widen up each and every individuals mind setting about our society now a days. There is this top agreement about its provisions on maternal and child health care, there is great debate on its proposal that we taxpayer and the private sector will fund and undertake widespread distribution of family planning devices such as birth control pills (BCPs) and IUDs, and as the government continue campaigning to broadcast a good information and effect on its use through health care centers nationwide.

Views and Opinions about the anti-abortion laws and policies in the Philippines: I strongly agree and support the anti-abortion laws in the Philippines for it has something to do with protecting the very sacred thing which is saving a life of an innocent child. Im grateful to the people who really think of this certain bills or laws to prevent abortion to be rampant in our country. These different laws should be implemented as well as its punishment for the people who will still engage in such abortion act. And in my opinion, people should make as many babies as they can aside from every child has the right to live, our population is our biggest asset because the population is not merely a problem. I have observed that our country is not really over populated. Look at the mountains, the jungles, the caves and many more places. There are no people living there. Our country can still occupy many Filipinos in different places in our country. In fact, the more babies a person has, the more assets he has. Forget real estate properties, stock investments, or Jollibee franchises. The real secret to increased wealth is babies. If ever a person is not able to feed the many babies he made, its the governments fault, because its the governments sole responsibility to make sure that every Filipino baby is fed. For the RH Bill issue I think passing the bill would mean extinction. We will become extinct just like the ancient dinosaurs. There would be a great population decline for our country. Population decline is not good for a certain country. We can cite the examples of population declining countries like Japan, Singapore and Italy. These countries are in a bad shape, in fact Philippines has a better economy and literacy rate. In fact, many Japanese, Singaporeans, Koreans and Italians are coming to our country for studies, investment and other business matters which is real proof that we have a better economy than them. To sum it up I think one good contribution a person can give to his/ her country would be to contribute more in our countrys biggest asset which is our population.

Mindanao State University Naawan, Misamis Oriental

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS IN ED 102: HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Submitted to:

Ms Aileen Joyce Lim

Submitted by:

Marietta G. Oclarit