RP senator proposes bill on abortion
RP senator proposes bill on abortion
By Adam Easton
MANILA: Women in the Philippines who have abortions and the
doctors performing them will face the death penalty if congress
approves a bill being supported by the government.
Senator Ramon Revilla, a former actor, proposed the bill after
reading newspaper reports of fetuses being dumped on the streets
in rural provinces.
The bill, which defines abortion as a "heinous" crime on a par
with murder or rape, has been backed by the health minister.
The United Nations has described the Philippines, which is
staunchly Roman Catholic, as already having "the most severe
abortion laws in the world".
A fetus' right to life is enshrined in the 1987 constitution
and under the existing revised penal code abortion is illegal
except in circumstances where the mother's health is at risk.
Offenders risk a minimum of six months and a maximum of six years
in jail.
But Revilla says these penalties have become "outmoded by the
changing times, what with the dynamic growth of society and the
ultra-liberal policies brought about by the influential Western
culture".
If the bill passes through both houses, the maximum penalty
for women who have abortions would be life imprisonment or death.
Physicians performing the operations would face the same penalty.
The health minister, Carmencita Reodica, said: "We support the
bill and we fully agree that abortion is a heinous crime."
The Philippines' Protestant president, Fidel Ramos, has been
pursuing a population control program since 1992.
The Catholic Church has opposed the program. Earlier this year
Manila's archbishop, Cardinal Sin, said condoms were "only fit
for animals" and prominent members of the Church boycotted the
international AIDS conference in Manila last month because free
condoms were issued to delegates.
The Church, while not sanctioning the use of the death
penalty, favors strict abortion legislation.
The health department estimates that 17 percent of women in
Manila have had at least one abortion. Treatment of post-abortion
complications ranks as the top reason for admission to hospital.
Revilla's office said the bill could pass through congress within
two years.
But the executive director of the Women's Legal Bureau, Evalyn
Ursua, criticized it as severely discriminatory.
"This bill can only have been proposed by a man and a very
ignorant one at that," she said.
Dr Wilbert Eleria, of the health department, said the
government was trying to strengthen the family planning program
and wanted every local health center to carry a six-month
contraceptive supply for each family.
-- The Guardian News Service