 Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy done by either removing or expulsing the fetus before it attains

viability.

 An estimated 73 million abortions occur globally each year. Nearly half of them—45%—are unsafe.
 Unsafe abortion is a leading – but preventable – cause of maternal deaths and morbidities. It can lead to physical
and mental health complications and social and financial burdens for women, communities, and health systems.
 Lack of access to safe, timely, affordable, and respectful abortion care is a critical public health and human rights
issue.
 People with unintended pregnancies face barriers to attaining safe, timely, affordable, geographically reachable,
respectful, and non-discriminatory abortion, they often resort to unsafe abortion.
 Serious complications occur in less than 1 out of 100 early abortions and in about 1 out of every 50 later
abortions.
 Abortions performed under unsafe conditions claim the lives of tens of thousands of women around the world
every year, leave many times that number with chronic and often irreversible physical and mental health
problems, and drain the resources of public health systems.

 Abortions are considered unsafe when performed by people who lack the necessary skills and information, in an
environment that doesn’t meet minimum medical standards or both.
 Worldwide, at least 7 million women are treated for complications from unsafe abortion each year.
 When abortion is performed by qualified people using correct techniques in hygienic conditions, it is very safe. In
the United States—where abortion has been legal since 1973, with restrictions that vary by state—the death rate
from induced abortion is less than one per 100,000 procedures.
 In 2008 alone, the Philippines’ criminal abortion ban was estimated to result in the deaths of at least 1,000 women
and complications for 90,000 more.
 Physicians and midwives who perform abortions in the Philippines with the consent of a pregnant woman may
face up to six years in prison under the Revised Penal Code.
 Women who undergo abortions for any reason may be punished by imprisonment for two to six years. m Because
of the lack of access to safe abortion, Filipino women with life-threatening pregnancies have no choice but to risk
their lives, either through unsafe abortion or through the continuation of high-risk pregnancies.
 The criminal abortion ban has stigmatized the procedure in the medical community so that women face
tremendous barriers and significant abuse when they seek treatment for abortion complications.
 Filipino women who have undergone unsafe abortions for health reasons report that healthcare workers have not
been sympathetic to their situation, but instead continue to abuse and threaten them.
 The stigma surrounding abortion is perpetuated by the Government of the Philippines’ acquiescence to the
demands of the Catholic hierarchy, including the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
 The Government of the Philippines continues to permit the CBCP to undermine women’s health even today by
conceding to its demands to deprive women of a range of reproductive health services, including access The
Government of the Philippines continues to permit the CBCP to undermine women’s health even today
by conceding to its demands to deprive women of a range of reproductive health services, including
access to contraception for poor women, comprehensive family planning counseling, and sex education.
 Early pregnancy is one of the pressing issues Filipino youths are facing today.
 Teenage pregnancy affects about 6% of Filipino girls. That sounds like a small number but is the second
highest rate in Southeast Asia based on Save the Children’s Global Childhood Report from 2019.
 The Philippines has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates among the ASEAN member states. More
than 500 adolescents are becoming pregnant and giving birth every day.
 An estimated 538 babies are born to Filipino teenage mothers EVERY SINGLE DAY, according to the
PSA from 2017.
 196,370 babies are born each year to teenage mothers in the Philippines! Nearly 200,000 teenagers get
pregnant every year! And to make matters worse, there are roughly 40 births each year by girls who
have not yet reached the age of 13. You heard that correctly – precious young girls who have not even
entered their teens, carrying a baby for nine months in their child-like womb.
 Early childbearing may result in poor health outcomes and may be a threat to the country’s economic
growth. Pregnant adolescents are less likely to complete higher education and have a lesser ability to
earn more income over the course of a lifetime, causing economic losses to the country.
 Pregnancy during the teenage years is also associated with a higher risk of health problems such as
preeclampsia, anemia, contracting STDs (sexually transmitted diseases), premature delivery, postpartum
hemorrhage, and poor mental health outcomes.
 Teenage mothers are more likely to experience violence and depression which can increase the risk of
mental disorders.
 Their body may compete with developing fetuses being carried for nutrition and may not be
psychologically ready to nurse babies after delivery since some pregnancy among teenagers is either
unintended or unwanted. A lack of knowledge of nutrition can also lead to poor health outcomes.
 According to the World Health Organization, pregnancy and childbirth complications are the leading
causes of death among girls aged 15-19 years globally, with low and middle-income countries
accounting for 99% of global maternal deaths of women aged 15-49 years.
 Teenage pregnancy was declared a “National Social Emergency'' in the Philippines. To curb the rise in
teenage pregnancy cases, the Commission on Population and Development (PopCom), Department of
Social Welfare and Development and Save the Children Philippines — an organization to support
Filipino children, together with other agencies, are looking forward to the swift passage of a bill that
institutionalizes a national policy on teenage pregnancy prevention.