07 Jun Ireland’s Referendum on Abortion Sets an Example the Philippines Must Follow
The Philippines continues to stagnate on a dwindling list of predominantly Catholic countries that have yet to liberalize their laws around abortion.
In a historic referendum on May 25, 2018, Ireland voted to repeal the 8th amendment in their constitution, a law that recognized a pregnant women’s life and that of her unborn fetus as equally deserving of protection. The motion to repeal it won through an overwhelming 66.4% of the vote, and 39 out of 40 Irish constituencies voted in favor.
The text of the amendment will now be replaced by the following line:
“Provision may be made by law for the regulation of termination of pregnancy.”
The decision paves the way for increased access to safe and legal abortion, potentially preventing future cases similar to the 2012 death of an Irish woman, Savita Halappanavar, who wasn’t allowed to have an abortion after miscarriage; she eventually developed sepsis and perished.
The Philippine Constitution has a law that reads very similarly to Ireland’s 8th amendment. Article II, Section 12 of the 1987 constitution reads: “It [the State] shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception.”
This clause has been used in countless arguments made to impede the progress of sexual health programs in the country, from the RH Law’s provision on contraceptives to the legalization of abortion. The clause has also, unfortunately, led to multiple life-threatening practices and pregnancy- and abortion-related deaths.
Because of this prohibitive law, Filipino women are forced to turn to unsafe and illegal abortions when they come to the decision to end their pregnancy. Women who seek medical help after suffering complications from these unsafe abortions are frequently turned away by hospitals and clinics for fear of legal ramifications. Fear of the law has even led to documented cases in which women who experienced intrauterine deaths were denied life-saving therapeutic abortions.
The law has led to countless deaths, and it has done little to stymie abortion rates in the Philippines. The exact figures are currently unknown, but estimates from 2012 show that roughly 70 Filipino women induce abortion every hour, with 11 women being hospitalized for unsafe abortion complications.
Unsafe abortion is recognized as the 3rd-leading cause of maternal deaths in the Philippines. An average of three women died every day in 2012 from unsafe abortion complications. With an even bigger population today, the numbers are probably much worse.
These are all deaths and injuries that could have been prevented if Filipinos were allowed access to safe and legal abortions. That the law does not even allow for provisions to be made for regulated abortions gives Filipino women no safe options for terminating their pregnancies. Even therapeutic abortions — those performed to save the life of the woman — are not always performed because some providers do not know that it is actually permitted. The only alternatives left to most women – especially the poor – are those that put them at greater risk of morbidity and death.
Had the law allowed for safe abortions, then the 2016 case of a Filipina rape victim who died from complications during childbirth might not have ended in tragedy. The victory in Ireland sets in motion countless opportunities to prevent deaths not only in Ireland but around the world. If our lawmakers could understand how the country’s archaic legislation has been negatively impacting the lives of the women it was created to protect, then perhaps they would follow suit and repeal Article II, Section 12 of our own Constitution. The preventable injuries and deaths of our women need to stop.