September 28 International Safe Abortion Day, Philippines Campaign Paper

The Philippines remains to be one of the countries in the world with the most restrictive laws on abortion, criminalizing all cases with no clear exemptions. Abortion also remains highly stigmatized in the country. Despite these, however, abortions continue to be a reality for many Filipino women. In a study from Guttmacher Institute, it was stated that 610,000 Filipino women induced abortions in 2012 alone. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the UP Population Institute (UPPI) estimated that 1.2 million cases of induced abortions occurred during the height of the pandemic. Clearly, no severity of the law can stop abortions from happening; in fact abortion restriction have only brought greater risks to and violation of people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, and bodily autonomy.

Philippine abortion bans and deep-seated socio-cultural stigma have created hostile environments for abortions and the advocates and care providers working to make abortions safe. It is estimated that a thousand women die each year from unsafe abortion complications, translating to three women dying every single day. Legal restrictions bring the threat of imprisonment of up to six (6) years to abortion seekers and up to 20 years to their care providers for accessing and providing essential reproductive healthcare. Further, stigma as perpetuated by anti-choice groups has greatly hindered not only liberalization of abortion laws but also open, progressive discussions on abortion.

The Philippines is a signatory to international treaties and agreements that seek to promote, protect, and fulfill, among other rights, the SRHR of its people. While the Philippine Government has taken some steps to implement the recommendations of these international bodies, women and girls in the Philippines still persistently experience legal, policy, cultural, and socio-economic barriers to the realization of their bodily autonomy and SRHR. In fact, Filipino women who are poor, who live in rural areas, and are young are particularly likely to experience unintended pregnancy and to seek abortion under unsafe conditions.

Unsafe abortion in the Philippines is a reality surrounded by countless uncertainties. For women who are contemplating to have an abortion, the uncertainty on where and how to find information for safe abortion is a big question. For women who have had an abortion, the uncertainty on how to seek for a quality post-abortion care treatment is a lingering thought. For local safe abortion advocates, the uncertainty on how to push and persevere for safe abortion rights in a conservative country, especially now that the new administration missed discussing its plans on human rights, justice, and peace.

Despite these challenges, advocates continue to take up space and persist. Advocates continuously urge the government of the Philippines to decriminalize abortion, and uphold recommendation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Committee to “legalize abortion in cases of rape, incest, threats to the life and/or health of the mother, or serious malformation of the fetus and decriminalize all other cases where women undergo abortion, as well as adopt necessary procedural rules to guarantee effective access to legal abortion.” The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) also urges the Philippine government to ensure the implementation of post-abortion care as mandated by the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) Law. Disregarding the issues of abortion as a public health issue endangers the lives of women.

There is also a gradual reception of the public to discuss abortion in the open, changing the norms around abortion and countering the dominant narrative that Filipinos are not ready to talk about abortion. Decriminalization of abortion became one of the electoral issues in the May 2022 national elections, surfacing the stance of national candidates on abortion. Positive media depictions of abortion are now making its way to television and movie screen. 12 weeks, one of the full-length film entries in the 18^th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, touches on the topic on abortion, depicting it as a woman’s right. These are achievements in the effort to make abortion a part of public discourse. 

This year, the September 28 International Safe Abortion Day bears the theme: “Abortion in uncertain times.” The world is in uncertain times. While richer nations are recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, poorer nations continue to bear the brunt of its consequences, which includes battling what development actors describe as the “shadow pandemic”. There are also compounding global crises present – healthcare, economic, political, humanitarian, climate crises and all their intersections – challenging our work towards sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and justice, and limiting access to safe abortion. In many countries in the Global South, especially in areas of conflict, people are attacked by anti-choice governments and decision makers through unjust laws that criminalize people’s choices over their bodies. The Philippines is no different from it.

Despite the setbacks, WGNRR remains firm in its commitment to fight for women’s rights and fundamental freedoms, including access to safe abortion. We will amplify the global campaign and calls for safe abortion rights, and raise awareness on the recommendations of the human rights review and monitoring mechanisms to the Philippines. We will also continue our work to reduce abortion stigma among WGNRR partners, along with capacitating them to better advocate for safe abortion rights in the Philippines, including the campaign to decriminalize abortion. In uncertain times like this, we must take action on various fronts, including on social media.

Join us by continuously demanding for the accountability of the government to uphold its human rights obligations, following the recommendations of the CEDAW Committee and the Universal Periodic Review to decriminalize abortion in the Philippines. There is also a need to review the 2018 Administrative Order (AO) of the Department of Health (DOH) on post-abortion care, and ensure that a human, compassionate, and non-judgement post-abortion care policy is in place. We call for the re-approval of misoprostol as a medical drug to aid in the provision of post-abortion care and prevention of deaths from unsafe abortions complications in the country. Pushing for the inclusion of key SRHR issues and topics in Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) will also contribute to higher awareness among students and young people regarding bodily autonomy and integrity. Along this is the call for the full integration and training of teachers on CSE.

Partnering with other organizations, WGNRR also aims to continuously contribute in the reduction of stigma around abortion by ensuring that allies express the willingness to continue the conversation on abortion, while partners express motivation to include safe abortion in their advocacy.

Finer, Lawrence & Hussain, Rubina. “Unintended Pregnancy and Unsafe Abortion in the Philippines: Context and Consequences” July 2013. https://www.guttmacher.org/report/unintended-pregnancy-and-unsafe-abortion-philippines-context-and-consequences#2

Marquez et. al. University of the Philippines Population Institute. “Estimating the Potential Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on sexual and reproductive health outcomes in the Philippines” Lecture, United Nations Population Fund-Philippines Country Office, October 15, 2020. https://www.uppi.upd.edu.ph/sites/default/files/pdf/UPPI-Impact-of-COVID-19-on-SRH.pdf

Center for Reproductive Rights. “Criminalization of Abortion in the Philippines: Its Harmful Impact on Women’s Health and Human Rights”. March 21, 2017. https://reproductiverights.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/GLP-Philippines-fact-sheet-2-22-17.pdf

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Center for Reproductive Rights. “Legislative Brief: Abortion Law Reform in Achieving the Development Goals of the Philippines” (2018). https://reproductiverights.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2018-philippines-abortion-legislative-brief.pdf

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 Vera, Noel. “12 Weeks (Anna Isabelle Matutina, 2022) August 18, 2022. https://criticafterdark.blogspot.com/2022/08/2-weeks-anna-isabelle-matutina-2022.html?m=1&fbclid=IwAR2fPuB8lkDTYpPbyrXXvb4

Okwuosa, Maryjacob & Diamond Gloria. “The ‘Shadow Pandemic’: What’s in a Narrative?” https://www.ungei.org/blog-post/shadow-pandemic-whats-narrative