have been found to be espousing the legalization of abortion in the
Philippines, as senators resumed floor debates on the controversial
“reproductive health” (RH) bill Monday.
One of the sponsors of Senate Bill No. 2865, Sen. Pia Cayetano, did
not deny that groups such as the Family Planning Organization of the
Philippines (FPOP), the Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights
(WGNRR), and Likhaan have been campaigning for legalized abortion, under
interpellation by Sen. Vicente Sotto III.
Sotto pointed out that FPOP got US$617,000 (P26 million) in funding
from the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) – the
world’s largest abortion provider – last year.
FPOP’s website carries a document titled “Medical and Service
Delivery Guidelines for Sexual and Reproductive Health Services,” which
describes medical and surgical methods for inducing abortion.
“[E]fforts should be made to inform the public that abortion is
safest when performed early, and women who seek abortion should be
encouraged to attend as early in the pregnancy as possible,” the
document on the FPOP website states.
FPOP is also on the listing of “Sexual Health Services and abortion
clinics Worldwide” by the Dutch abortion group Women on Waves (WoW). WoW
takes women aboard hired ships to undergo abortions in international
waters, to escape national laws banning abortion.
WoW states on its website: “If you live in a country where there is
no access to safe abortion services and you would like to obtain a
medical abortion with Mifepristone and Misoprostol, please go to Women
on Web. This is an online medical abortion help service that refers to a
doctor who can provide you with a medical abortion.”
Mifepristone and Misoprostol are abortion drugs, and both are not legal in the Philippines.
Providing how-to instructions for abortion
Likhaan, meanwhile, published last year a Filipino translation of the
book “Where Women Have No Doctor,” Chapter 15 of which has a section
titled “Mga Ligtas na Paraan ng Pagpapalaglag.” The book is available to
the public on the Likhaan website.
“Tinatanggal ang binubuntis sa pamamagitan ng paghigop, gamit ang ispesyal na tubo (cannula) na pinapadaan sa puwerta at cervix pa-pasok sa matris. Puwedeng gawin ito na hindi pinapatulog ang babae, pero minsan, iniiniksyunan ng gamot sa cervix para makatulong sa sakit. Sa manu-manong proseso (manual vacuum aspiration o MVA), tinatanggal ang binubuntis sa pamamagitan ng ispesyal na heringgilya (syringe). Kung hindi, gumagamit ng maliit na makinang de-kuryente,” the book states.
“Mayroon na ngayong mga gamot na nagagamit ang mga doktor at health worker para
magpalaglag. Pinapaimpis ng mga gamot ang matris at pinipiga palabas
ang binubuntis. Ang ilang gamot ay nilalagay sa loob ng puwerta … ang
ilan ay iniinom, at ang ilan ay iniiniksyon. Kung tama ang gagamiting
gamot o kumbinasyon ng mga gamot, ligtas at mabisang paraan ito,” it adds.
Pushing abortion acceptance despite being unlawful
The Manila- and Amsterdam-based WGNRR, headed by UP professor Dr.
Sylvia Claudio, talks about its “Abortion Rights Advocacy” on its
website:
“Throughout its almost 30 year history, WGNRR has made abortion advocacy a priority.”
The Claudio-led group’s “specific goals” include the investigation of
“ways to improve access despite the law,” sharing of “experiences and
strategies about how to confront religious fundamentalists,” and finding
the “best practices for linking abortion rights to other social justice
and human rights campaigns.”
Sottopointed out that the RH bill provides an “open door” to abortion –
Section 3 paragraph i. The provision states: “While this Act does not
amend the penal law on abortion, the government shall ensure that all
women needing care for post-abortion complications shall be treated and
counseled in a humane, non-judgmental and compassionate manner.”
“People and organizations behind it, as far as I’m concerned, are the
difficulties I am encountering [in this bill],” Sotto said.
“IPPF has lobbied worldwide for the legalization and repeal of all laws preventing legal access to abortion,” he added.
In reply, Cayetano said: “The fact that an organization has made
statements inconsistent with public policy does not prevent them from
making statements consistent [with public policy].”
Using a poor analogy, the pro-RH senator said that even if Osama bin
Laden supported policies against climate change, environmentalist Sen.
Loren Legarda wouldn’t want to be associated with the brains behind the
9/11 attacks.
Sotto, however, retorted: “Climate change – everybody will agree to that. Eh ito contraception and abortion eh!” (Dominic Francisco)
CBCP for Life.com
No comments:
Post a Comment