Legalization of Abortion: Women’s Rights and Safety

Abortion refers to the termination of pregnancy by removing the fetus or the embryo from the uterus
before it is ready for birth. There are two major forms of abortion: spontaneous (which is often referred
to as a miscarriage) and the purposeful abortion (or an induced abortion). Generally, the term abortion
is commonly referred to an induced abortion. This form of abortion has become one of the most
controversial political debate around the world especially in the Philippines where the act is still
criminalized under the law.

The abortion controversy can be broken down into two distinct sides—those who oppose abortion (pro-
life) and those who support abortion rights (pro-choice). Abortion opponents have maintained with their
stand that fetus’ right to life is more important than a woman’s right to terminate unwanted pregnancy.
On the other hand, abortion rights advocate that women have the rights to control their bodies by
choosing to terminate an unplanned pregnancy (Beckwith, 1993).

Looking back at around 19 th century, abortion was legally restricted in almost every country. Historically,
restrictions on abortion were introduced for three main reasons: it is dangerous and abortionists were
killing a lot of women (1), it is considered a sin and a transgression of morality (2), and it is restricted to
protect fetal life in all circumstances (3). And as time passes by, abortion methods are becoming safe in
most of the countries, in fact it is now one of the safest medical procedures if done following the World
Health Organization (WHO) guidance. Meanwhile, it is also the cause of at least one in six maternal
deaths from complications when it is unsafe.

In the Philippines, regardless of the developments in the Reproductive Health Law, many women still
experience unplanned pregnancies, and abortion is the only option that they have. However, since
abortion is highly stigmatized and is criminalized by the law, most of them resort to unsafe procedures
which lead to a number of deaths in the past few years, which makes the Philippines as the 6 th highest
maternal mortality rate in Southeast Asia. With this, it is very evident that the banning of legal abortion
does not prevent women to have abortion but it only allows them to have an unsafe ones.

Before we discuss further, let us first define what is an unsafe abortion. Unsafe abortion, from the
definition of the World Health Organization, is a procedure for terminating pregnancy performed by
person/s lacking the necessary skills or in an environment not in conformity with medical standards, or
both. This unsafe abortion continues until now because of the most restrictive abortion laws that we
have in the Philippines. Studies have shown that unsafe abortion is a significant contributor to the
Philippines’ high maternal mortality ratio and majority of women who are in these statistics are usually
young, poor, or from rural areas.

The only way for women to have a safe abortion is by making it available, affordable and accessible on
the woman’s request. Further, women’s right to safe abortion can only be possible if there will be a law
reform in the Philippines. Legalizing abortion does not mean that the state is encouraging all women to
have an abortion but the goal here is to give those who want an abortion a safer procedure. In 2004, a
research done by the WHO, based on data from all countries, showed that the broader the legal grounds
for abortion, the fewer deaths there are from unsafe abortions. This is a proof that the best way to
unsafe abortion is by providing access to safe abortion and removing all legal restrictions.
According to John Stuart Mill, the only way in which we can know the whole of a subject is by hearing
out every person of variety of opinion and studying all modes in which it can be looked at. Thus, in this
paper, we discuss different and opposing viewpoints regarding the issue on abortion in order to fully
deduced the subject and identify the actions that need to be taken in order to achieve what is best and
safe for women. In the succeeding paragraphs, we will present the following disciplines—Theology,
Public Health, Jurisprudence, Socio-Cultural, Ethics, and Politics—and where they stand on the given
issue.

For the past years, many countries have reformed their laws related to abortion, removing some (if not
all) legal restrictions, meanwhile, the Philippines, as a Christian nation, remains unmoved when it comes
to the issue on abortion. In the following viewpoint, Pope John Paul II strongly believed that abortion is
apparently a heinous crime because it kills an innocent human being who has yet to be born. He stated
that life begins the moment an ovum is fertilized and every human being has an inviolable right to life.

To further the views of the Catholic Church, an encyclical from Pope John Paul II entitled Evangelium
Vitae (The Gospel of Life) will be explained in this part. The book focuses on the issue regarding the right
to life of every human being including abortion, birth control, euthanasia, embryology, and etc. Here,
the value of life is highly emphasized by the church which constantly warns people against violating its
sanctity. Pope John Paul II justifies the idea that man must never kill (or assist in killing) another human,
as it is stated in one of the ten commandments of God. Specifically, in Passage 62 of the encyclical, Pope
John Paul II mentioned his agreement with Pope John VI’s condemnation of any forms of induced
abortion because it is absolutely a direct killing of a human being.

From Pius XI, in his encyclical Casti Connubii, rejected the justifications of abortion because every act
which intends to destroy human life in the womb is against God’s will. And also John XXIII reaffirmed
that human life is sacred because from its very beginning, it directly involves God’s creativity. The
Second Vatican Council, as mentioned, is very adamant in condemning abortion. Here is an excerpt
taken from the letter which shows the Vatican’s abomination of abortion: “From the moment of its
conception, life must be guarded with the greatest care, while abortion and infanticide are unspeakable
crimes.”

In addition, the church finds that abortion comes with a grave moral disorder since it eliminates or
terminates the life of an innocent human being in the preparatory phase of their existence. Also,
chemical abortion methods, unnatural methods of fertilization or artificial insemination, sterilization for
the purpose of controlling birth or any forms that destroy the product of contraception are being
condemned and rejected in the encyclical mentioned above. It is stated in the letter that direct and
intentional abortion is a grave sin that the Roman Catholic Church has denounced and that is very
evident even until now. For this reason, the Philippines remain to conform to the Catholic teaching by
not allowing the legalization of abortion.

However, no matter how saintly or religious we appear to be as a nation, we can’t deny the fact that
some are just trying to disguise themselves as godly but the truth is that there are many people around
the Philippines who practice immorality. In our country, we consider abortion as murder, but does this
concept really discourages all women from abortion? No, in fact it is just making women seek for
abortion in the black market, risking their health and even their lives. This should be a signal to legalize
abortion because the more we condemn these acts, the more women will resort to unsafe procedures.
Condemnation of these acts does not change the fact that abortion is happening and will continue to
happen in the next few years. The best thing that the Philippines can do is to accept the fact that we are
not as conservative as we were before. This is very evident in most of the members of our society
especially the youth today. We need to adjust to these changes, policies should not remain the same
especially when the situation surrounding these policies have already changed.

More so, all the religions/church denominations have taken strong positions on abortion—they believe
that the issue has profound argument of life and death, right and wrong—which makes it a major
religious concern not just for Catholics. In the next passages, we are going to present the different
standpoints of the various churches in the Philippines.

For the Catholics, their strong opposition against the issue is very apparent. Regardless of any
circumstance, abortion will never be justified to be good. For the Baptist Churches, they also showed
their opposition to the issue but unlike the Catholic Church, it has consideration—it allows abortion in
cases where the mother’s life is endanger. They also preached about seeking spiritual counsel if they
consider such choices. Meanwhile, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that abortion
for personal or social convenience is contrary to the will and the commandments of God.

Most of the time, we are all faced with cruel situations in our lives and we all need to decide which path
to take (the right or the wrong)—our moral choices being tested. Some are major decisions while some
are just minor points, but we need to think through about it because the choices we make, define who
we are as a moral person.

Without thinking any considerations, it is widely known (in the Philippines) that abortion is killing an
innocent unborn child and therefore, an immoral act. Here, we will use the Natural Law to present an
argument against abortion. The Natural Law is an ethical theory by St. Thomas Aquinas which aids the
people to understand which human actions are morally right or wrong through the use of human reason
alone—that is without the use of divine revelation or magisterium.

Under the natural law theory, there are three determinants of a human action and all should be good in
order for a human action to be considered as good. One is the act itself