New York Times Examines Debate Over Philippine Bill To Increase Contraception Access

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 27 Oct 2009 - 5:00 PST

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The Philippine Congress is considering legislation called the Reproductive Health and Population Development Act that would require governments at all levels to provide no- or low-cost reproductive health services, such as condoms, birth control pills, tubal ligations and vasectomies, the New York Times reports. It also would require sex education programs in both public and private schools from fifth grade through high school.

Although birth control and related health services have long been available to Filipinos who can pay for them through the private medical system, about 70% of the population must depend on heavily subsidized care, the Times reports. The country is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, and abortion is illegal. In 1991, the responsibility for delivering public health services shifted from the federal government to local authorities, many of which have curbed access to birth control.

A 2006 government survey that interviewed 46,000 women found that between 2000 and 2006, half of Filipino women of reproductive age used any type of birth control. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 54% of the 3.4 million pregnancies in the country were unintended. The institute said that 92% of those pregnancies resulted from not using birth control and the rest from birth control that failed. Unintended pregnancies contributed to an estimated half-million illegal abortions that year, Guttmacher said. Most of the abortions were performed in secret under unsanitary conditions.

In years past, attempts to make reproductive services more broadly available have been thwarted, including several bills in Congress over the past 10 years. The Catholic Church and affiliated lay organizations are the main opposition to such efforts. Both say the new proposed law would legalize abortion. The Rev. Melvin Castro of the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life, part of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, said the church and the laity would fight the bill up to the Supreme Court if it is passed into law.

Supporters of the bill say it addresses public health needs involving women's safety. The bill's main defender in Congress, Rep. Edcel Lagman, said there must be a check on population growth in the interest of national welfare. The Philippine population is estimated at 98 million and is increasing by 2% each year, one of the highest rates in Asia. Some proponents of the legislation are optimistic of the bill's chances because this is the first time such a measure has won the support of the House committee on health. They also point to public support in opinion surveys as a reason to hope that the bill can pass before the current Congress adjourns in June.

According to the Times, tensions surrounding the measure are expected to increase with the approach of national elections in May. The church already has issued statements calling on Sen. Benigno Aquino, an expected presidential candidate, to oppose the bill. Although Aquino is close with the church, he has said he will not take a position against the legislation. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who cannot run for another term, has given mixed signals regarding her position (Conde, New York Times, 10/26).

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