Talk:Abortion in the Philippines

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Bold text== Abortion to save the life of the mother ==

There is no law that expressly allows for a legal abortion when the pregnant mother's life is endangered. The provisions of the Revised Penal Code penalizing abortion do not provide for any qualifications when the pregnant mother's life is endangered. I've clicked on the UN profile that says that abortion in such an instance is authorized, but it does not cite the legal basis for such statement.

It can nonetheless be argued that that an abortion to save the mother's life might fall under the justifying circumstances in Article 11.4 of the Revised Penal Code, which legally justifies the commision of a criminal act "in order to avoid an evil or injury" (i.e., endangerment of the life of the mother). Yet there is no Supreme Court decision that validates or invalidates such a position. And while that argument could undoubtedly exempt the mother from criminal prosecution, it is not as certain whether persons who aid in the abortion (such as the doctors) could similarly avail of the justifying circumstance.

All told, I think it is extremely dangerous to assert without qualification or explanation that abortions in order to save the life of the mother are legal in the Philippines, especially in a public forum as Wikipedia which might be relief by a Filipina thinking about undergoing an abortion. I will amend the article to reflect the above, though if it can be established that there is a law or judicial precedent that says otherwise, I would welcome the correction.

--Anyo Niminus 12:09, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

400,000 abortions a year? "One study estimated that, despite legal restrictions, in 1994 there were 400,000 abortions performed illegally in the Philippines and 80,000 hospitalizations of women for abortion-related complications. 12% of all maternal deaths in 1994 were due to unsafe abortion according to the Department of Health of the Philippines. Two-thirds of Filipino women who have abortions attempt to self-induce or seek solutions from those who practice folk medicine"

This "One study" is a politically motivated policy paper on a website, not peer-reviewed scientific research in a journal. These numbers make no sense in context (when even countries with the most liberal abortion laws, like the UK, struggle to get above 200,000 abortions a year, we are expected to believe that in a country with only a 1/3 larger population where abortion is a crime it is almost twice as popular? This is entire section is very suspect and I have deleted it until some statistics from a neutral source can be found to back up the claims made above) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.183.39.115 (talk) 08:43, 23 February 2011 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Introduction to Policy Analysis - Summer Session22
— Assignment last updated by Msabueg (talk) 15:18, 21 August 2022 (UTC)

Added sections on the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 and the Public's views
Hello! I added two sections on the page because there was no mention of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012. This is an important and integral part of anything that has to do with family planning in the Philippines. Please let me know if there's anything I missed. - - Msabueg (talk) 06:44, 23 August 2022 (UTC)