Abortion Issue Essay Example for Free

Abortion Issue Essay ? Abortion is a controversial issue but it should be discussed because it is happening, and is more widespread than we care to admit. If we truly care about life, then we must understand what is going on. Ideally, pregnancy is a wanted and happy event for women, their partners and their families. Unfortunately, this is not always so. Around the world, millions of women every year become pregnant unintentionally. In the Philippines, as in other countries, some of these women are faced with a difficult choice: to give birth to a child that they are not prepared or able to care for, or to obtain an illegal, and often unsafe, abortion. As a Filipino citizen abortion is a crime. According to Articles 256-259 of our Revised Penal Code, whether you’re the woman getting the abortion, the abortionist, or someone assisting or encouraging the abortion, if you commit the act on purpose, you could get sent to jail for one month, to twenty years. No exceptions. For us, the consensus in abortion is strongly â€Å"anti.† Almost all of my classmates insisted that intentional abortion of any kind; was murder, regardless of whether or not it was done to save the mother’s life. Out of the forty-four students in our section, only about six said that abortion, if regulated, could be made legal. While I myself would prefer to avoid having to get an abortion as far as reasonably possible, I believe that this issue should be looked at through a more critical lens. Why? Because it is the attitude that most Filipinos adopt in relation to abortion is frequently more emotional than practical. Much of it can be traced back to a knee-jerk, culture-based reaction to anything involving babies and death. The lines on matters involving religion, culture, and tradition are quite blurred, and the results are all the same: a default outcry against abortion, or any sort of regulation concerning sexual health. * Be able to understand and to be aware to the effects of abortion. * To enlighten the Filipino citizen not to agree to the so called â€Å"abortion bill†. * For us to share the learning’s to the teenagers what does abortion really do to our human life. Abortion is illegal in the Philippines and is not permitted under any circumstance. The act is criminalized by the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, which was enacted in 1930 but remains in effect today. Articles 256, 258 and 259 of the Code mandate imprisonment for the woman who undergoes the abortion, as well as for any person who assists in the procedure, even if they be the woman’s parents, a physician or midwife. Article 258 further imposes a higher prison term on the woman or her parents if the abortion is undertaken â€Å"in order to conceal [the woman’s] dishonour† (Tan 2008 and Wikipedia 2008).The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines effectively any amendments to the Penal Code’s provisions on abortion because of Article II, Section 12, which states: â€Å"The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and t he life of the unborn from conception. The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and the development of moral character shall receive the support of the Government.† In the principle, legalizing abortion would require a referendum to amend the constitution, although the enactment of a more definitive provision sanctioning the ban was not successful. In 1999, Congressman Roy Padilla Jr. of Camarines Norte filed House Bill 6343seeking to allow abortion in special cases (e.g., rape, congenital defects in the fetus or cases where the mother’s life is endangered). It is unlikely that the bill will be passed but it has stimulated discussion on abortion. The passage of HB 6343 will require amendment because the Bill as it presently stands is inherently unconstitutional (Wikipedia 2008 and Tan 2008).The United Nations recognizes that abortion in the Philippines is permitted only in instances in which the pregnant woman’s life is endangered. However, there is no law in the Philippines that expressly authorizes abortions in order to save the woman’s life; and the general provisions which do penalize abortion make no qualifications if the woman’s life is endangered. It may be argued that an abortion to save the mother’s life could be classified as a justifying circumstance (duress as opposed to self-defence) that would bar criminal prosecution under the Revised Penal Code. However, this position has yet to be adopted or debunked by the Philippine Supreme Court. Proposals to liberalize Philippine abortion laws have been opposed by the Catholic Church, and its opposition has considerable influence in the predominantly Catholic country. Philippines is the only Catholic country in Asia and contrary to that statistical data reported that there were some 400,000 to 500,000 abortion in 2005. The Department of Health added that nearly 100,000 women who have unsafe abortions every year end up in the hospital. About 4 in 5 abortions in the Philippines are for economic reasons, according to a survey by the University of the Philippines. In many cases, said Jocelyn Pacete, a spokeswoman for Likhaan, a women’s health group based in Manila, â€Å"the mother can’t afford another child, so ends up choosing her five living children over the fetus in her womb.† (Source: Legal_Updates) STATISTICAL FACTS, QUALITATIVE FACTS Prevalence of Abortion in the Philippines Accurate measurement of induced abortion levels has proven difficult in many parts of the world. Health care workers and policymakers need information on the incidence of both legal and illegal induced abortion to provide the needed services and to reduce the negative impact of unsafe abortion on women’s health. Information on the current level of unintended pregnancy and abortion is essential for understanding the extent to which women face barriers in planning pregnancies and preventing unintended ones. Evidence on recent trends in these important indicators is also crucial in assessing whether changes in policies and programs are necessary. Abortions cut across class, age, and marital status, and occur in both urban and rural areas. The UP Population Institute (UPPI) 1994 study estimates that between 300,000 and500, 000 women obtain induced abortions annually in the Philippines. Put another way, there may be 16 induced abortions for every 100 pregnancies. According to Singh et al. (2006), induced abortion in the Philippines is widespread and practice takes many forms. Nearly half of pregnancies each year end in an induced abortion or an unplanned birth. Unintended pregnancy is the root cause of abortion. Some 3.1 million pregnancies occur each year in the Philippines. Of these, 15% result in induced abortions, 31% in unplanned births, 39% in planned births and 15% in spontaneous abortions. An estimated 473,000 abortions occur annually. One-third of women who experience an unintended pregnancy end it in abortion. Thus, about 1.43 million pregnancies each year—nearly half of all pregnancies— are unintended. The annual rate of unintended pregnancy is 81 per 1,000 women of reproductive age, meaning that about 8% of Filipino women aged 15–44 conceive every year without intending to do so. Women from all segments of society experience abortion . Women who have had an abortion resemble average Filipino women: The majority are married, Catholic and poor. They have some high school education and have already had several children. Surveying students, friends and all the people around us that is willing to answer our questionnaire. We’ve made a questionnaire instead of direct interview to the respondents. We are estimating around 50 respondents and from there we can assume a certain percent for the â€Å"Pro-Life† and â€Å"Anti†. (Source: Legal_Updates) http://www.chanrobles.com/revisedpenalcodeofthephilippinesbook2.htm: 1. Ã…hman E and Shah I, Unsafe abortion: worldwide estimates for 2000, Reproductive Health Matters, 2002, No. 19, pp. 13–17. 2. Ã…hman E and Shah I, Unsafe Abortion: Global and Regional Estimates of the Incidence of Unsafe Abortion and Associated Mortality in 2000, fourth ed., Geneva: World Health Organization, 2004. 3. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Development, Abortion Policies: A Global Review, Vol. III, New York: United Nations, 1995. 4. Singh S et al., Estimating the level of abortion in the Philippines and Bangladesh, International Family Planning Perspectives, 1997, 23(3):100– 107 & 144. 5. Shire A and Pesso L, Changing policies and attitudes: postabortion care in the Philippines, Compass, 2003, N Abortion Issue. (2017, Feb 06).