Philippines – New Law for Sexual & Reproductive Health Info & Care
Author: Womens UN Report Network
Date: December 10, 2012
WUNRN
PHILIPPINES – NEW LAW FOR SEXUAL
& REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH INFO & CARE
© AP
17 December 2012 – Philippine law passed today establishes long-awaited
protection for women’s rights to reproductive health, Amnesty International
said today.
The Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and
Development Act, known as the RH Bill, strikes down some longstanding barriers
for women’s access to sexual and reproductive health care, including access to
natural and modern contraception and reproductive health information for
adults.
“This law is an important step toward protecting women’s rights to
reproductive health,” said Polly Truscott, Deputy Asia-Pacific Director.
“However, the law falls short in protecting the reproductive health rights of
girls.”
The new Reproductive Health Act mandates non-sectarian schools to give
age-appropriate sexuality education to students of reproductive age, with
parental consent. After amendments introduced in the Senate, the Act also
requires under 18 seeking access to contraception to obtain written parental
consen t.
The Act further mandates the Department of Health to procure and distribute
reproductive health care services and supplies through the help of local
government units and also emphasises the importance of maternal and child
health, prioritising it in health system updates and emergency care.
In a move aimed at strengthening monitoring and accountability procedures
the Act also provides for a system of maternal death reviews. In June 2012 the
Philippine National Statistics Office stated that maternal deaths in the
Philippines had increased from 162 to 221 deaths per 100,000 live births in the
period from 2006 to 2010.
Provisions regarding post-abortion care and counselling were removed before
the Act was passed. In a country where abortion is criminalized for all
circumstances including for protecting the woman’s life or health or where the
pregnancy is the result of rape, the deletion of such proposals is likely to
have an adverse effect on women’s health.
“By no means is this a perfect law, but after over a decade of lobbying by
women’s organisations and medical professionals to enshrine the protection of
women’s human right to sexual, reproductive and maternal healthcare, this is
welcome development. The easier it is for women the Philippines to
exercise their reproductive rights, the lower maternal and infant mortality
will be,” said Polly Truscott.
In a positive development, the Act makes it illegal for reproductive
healthcare providers to withhold reasonable treatment or information from any
adult based on the lack of third-party consent, such as permission from a
husband. It further seeks to address conscientious objection by
healthcare providers by requiring them to refer patients immediately to another
provider.
Amnesty International is urging the Philippines to go further in promoting
and protecting the internationally recognised human rights of women and girls
to reproductive health by providing appropriate reproductive health information
and services to all women and girls, including adolescents, without
preconditions. Further, Amnesty International recommends that the
Philippine Congress urgently review and revise provisions on abortion in the
Revised Penal Code to bring them in line with international human rights law.
“The Philippines still have a long way to fully respect, protect and fulfil
women’s right to reproductive health. Today the country has at taken a
significant leap forward, but the real test will be to how effectively this law
is implemented,” said Truscott.
Categories: Releases
