Women’s Rights Advocates Urge Electoral Candidates to Support the Decriminalization of Abortion Following the recent Mexican Supreme Court ruling declaring that penalizing abortion is unconstitutional, feminists and local advocates in the Philippines demand stronger protections and guarantees of women’s rights by calling for the full decriminalization...
Human Rights Advocates Call on Congress to Junk Anti-Choice House Bill No. 8354 and to Support Decriminalization of Abortion In the last SONA speech of President Rodrigo Duterte, yesterday, 26 July 2021, the President did not mention any concerns pertaining to gender issues and the welfare...
We, at the Philippine Safe Abortion Advocacy Network (PINSAN), mourn the passing of Mercedes Lactao Fabros, the Campaign and Advocacy Coordinator of Womanhealth Philippines. Womanhealth is a member of PINSAN. Merce was a strong leader in sexual and reproductive health and rights advocacy in the Philippines....
Join us for the exhibit and awarding of the Telling Truer Stories II anthology! See you on November 23, 3-6pm at Coffee Rush Katipunan (10 Rajah Matanda, Project 4, Quezon City). Map: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Coffee+Rush/@14.6177758,121.0685564,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x3397b751f927a6cf:0xb599957b799cc0a6!8m2!3d14.6177706!4d121.0707451 Please RSVP at pinsan.network@gmail.com...
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...
On May 25, 2018, the people of the Republic of Ireland voted with a resounding “Yes” to legal abortion. Once signed into law, this will repeal the Irish 8th Amendment, which saw the life of a pregnant woman and that of an unborn child as...
Save the date this May 28, 2018 for the International Day of Action for Women's Health! We'll be talking about Filipino Women's SRHR: Current State and Pressing Issues on May 28, 2018, 9:30am - 3:00pm. Details: Film screening: Motherland by Ramona Diaz Forum Venue: Microtel by Wyndham, UP Technohub Commonwealth Avenue, UP...
Are you passionate about learning and working towards the realization of young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)?Are you 18-21 years old, living in Metro Manila? If yes, this is your chance to be part of WGNRR's six (6) month Youth Development Program!...
Why is it important that women be given the freedom to choose whether or not to be mothers? It's funny that we live in a world where basic questions such as this one have to be asked. With regard to motherhood, it is a woman who...
We have Ramona S. Diaz, Director, Producer, Writer, and Co-Editor of Motherland, as our guest. We discuss her previous work, the film, and why reproductive rights are so important in this country. Hear her give advice to women storytellers....
One of the main conservative arguments for the banning of abortion is that it is immoral. It is immoral because terminating a pregnancy would result in the termination of a "life." In other words, the premise of the debate relies on the assumption that the...
What does it mean to be empowered as a woman? One of the goals of female empowerment is to enable women to do what men do, to have the same freedoms and privileges men have. In order to identify which rights women lack, we could...
Let's pretend that you have a dangerous physical condition that has the following symptoms: bleeding, severe nausea and vomiting, headaches, abdominal pain, visual disturbances, swelling, and flu-like symptoms. Now, imagine a scenario where another person, or an organization, actively prevents you from undergoing the treatment you...
Motherhood is a lifelong vocation. From the moment a person decides to become a mother, her life drastically and irrevocably changes in a variety of ways. The person who decides to take on the challenge of motherhood has to make lifestyle adjustments with regard to...
We have come so far, in terms of civility, from where we were about a thousand years ago. Unfortunately, there are some negative aspects of society that remain until today. One of them is misogyny. Misogyny kills thousands of women every day. Some die from honor killings....
Whether or not one is "pro-life" or "pro-choice," can we all agree that pregnancy changes a person's life? It does, doesn't it? Cari Neirenberg, in her article "Body Changes During Pregnancy," interviews Kim Trout, a certified nurse midwife and an assistant professor of women's health...
Most people have never had and will never have to undergo an abortion. Needless to say, most people will never experience the psychological, emotional, and physical difficulties that compel such a decision. This is probably the main reason why some people can't imagine why anyone...
The Philippines made the headline of an international news outlet because of outdated policies on abortion. The article, "How bitter herbs and botched abortions kill three women a day in the Philippines" by Claudine Spera, was recently published by The Guardian. The article was about the...
We have Ana Maria "Princess" Nemenzo, National Coordinator of WomanHealth Philippines, as our guest. We discuss the past, present, and future of RH and abortion advocacy in the Philippines....
"Is abortion a good thing? Is it something you would wish upon your own daughter?" These are common questions regarding the morality of abortion. A common challenge advocates face from anti-choice or "pro-life" advocates is the challenge of wishing abortion upon one's own daughter. So, if...
"It is for God to decide who lives and who dies." This is a common argument religious people make against the termination of a pregnancy. If, for example, the doctor intervenes and terminates an unhealthy pregnancy, some people believe that doctors are attempting to "stop...
Imagine this scenario: You're a teenage girl in the middle of college. You engage in intercourse with a partner and the condom fails. You get pregnant. You are neither prepared to be a mother, nor are you willing, given your current circumstances. You and your partner...
The current criminal law on abortion implemented in the Philippines is based on a primitive and outdated concept. Clara Rita Padilla, in her Rappler article from 2015 mentions that, "At the time the law was adopted, Filipino women did not even have the right to vote,...
Why do people have to pay taxes? Have you ever wondered why part of your salary goes to the government? Ideally, the reason why you, as a citizen, have to contribute to the government budget is because you too will benefit from the policies and...
A common critique on abortion is the belief that it is an "easy way out." Some would even compare the existence of the procedure as a "reset" button, like in video games when things don't go your way. To some, abortion would be akin to...
Advocates of safe abortion rights maintain that no abortion is "more right" than another. A woman's choice to end a pregnancy or to carry it to term should not be based on influences outside of a woman's desire to be a mother. If a woman...
For many, the primary purpose of progress and technology is to make a person's life easier. A developed nation is one that allows its citizens access to resources that would help their pursuit of happiness and fulfillment. Washing machines, dishwashers, microwaves, and a number of other...
"Why didn't you go on the pill?" "I thought you used condoms?" "It can't be mine, because we used contraception!" "You probably got pregnant on purpose!" "But I pulled out!" These are just a few of the phrases a newly pregnant young woman often hears from...
One of the most common arguments against abortion is the idea that it takes an innocent life. The person who ends a pregnancy is often painted as an irresponsible adult who carelessly got pregnant and who's unwilling to take responsibility for her actions, opting instead...
The availability of the oral contraceptive gave women more control over their bodies. It gave women more options, and more freedom, to decide whether or not they'll have children. It allowed women to plan the timing of her pregnancy. The pill has been a powerful...
There is a lot of misinformation circulating in pro-life circles regarding the "immorality of abortion." Many arguments point out that ending a pregnancy is immoral because the procedure causes the unborn to experience extreme pain. Moral and ethical debates are often anchored on the premise...
It was June 2015 when the Supreme Court of the Philippines released a temporary restraining order to stop the distribution of contraceptive implants. In 2016 there was a petition to lift the TRO. However, this petition was denied by the Supreme Court. Here's the problem: Contraceptives...
When talking about the issue of abortion, people's opinions exist on a very wide spectrum. On one extreme is the idea that women, under any circumstances, should never have an abortion. On the opposite end of that position is the belief that women should be...
Modern technology has made delivering a baby significantly safer. The average human female has the biological tools to incubate a baby. The availability of medical procedures such as cesareans has indeed lowered the mortality rate of women. Furthermore, the continuous development of better and better...
The Philippines has long been a battleground for issues surrounding reproductive health. Women's rights advocates have been fighting for decades to make birth control aids more available to the general population. A battle may have been won as birth control in the Philippines takes a...
We have Chantal Umuhoza from Rwanda as our guest. We discuss the importance of the UN CSW, how Rwanda's situation is similar to the Philippines, how it has changed, and the difference advocating for srhr has made....
Watch our UN CSW 61 side event at the Netherlands Mission in New York held on March 20, 2017. Read more about the details of the event here: Pushing Boundaries: Advancing Safe Abortion Advocacy in Restrictive Settings...
We have Nisha Varia, advocacy director of Human Rights Watch's women's rights division, as our guest. We discuss the Global Gag Rule and how it will affect the lives of women worldwide. We also talk about abortion as a human right....
Let's say you are a college freshman. In your desire to earn your degree faster, you've taken as many units as you can for the incoming semester. You come from a middle-class family. You have 3 other siblings whose food, shelter, clothing and education your...
Pinsan member, Sarah-Jane Biton presented an oral statement on behalf of the Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR) at the 61st Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on March 20, 2017. View the video here at 1:48:06. Here's the content of the...
The premise of female empowerment is to grant women the same freedoms and privileges that men enjoy. There was a time when women were relegated to the home, while their husbands had the freedom to pursue chosen careers. There was a time when women were...
EnGendeRights has just published policy briefs and several fact sheets with the support of Pinsan (Philippine Safe Abortion Advocacy Network). The first policy brief, "Access to Safe and Legal Abortion and Post-Abortion Care Can Save Filipino Women’s Lives", discusses the impact of a lack of access...
President Donald Trump reinstated the global gag rule late last month, endangering the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of millions around the world. The global gag rule forbids international NGOs from talking about abortion...