Forsaken Lives:The Harmful Impact of the Philippine Criminal Abortion
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FORSAKEN LIVESThe Harmful Impact of the Philippine Criminal Abortion Ban FORSAKEN LIVES The Harmful Impact of the Philippine Criminal Abortion Ban © 2010 Center for Reproductive Rights Printed in the United States Any part of this report may be copied, translated, or adapted with permission from the authors, provided that the parts copied are distributed free or at cost (not for profit) and the Center for Reproductive Rights is acknowledged as the author. Any commercial reproduc- tion requires prior written permission from the Center for Reproductive Rights. The Center for Reproductive Rights would appreciate receiving a copy of any materi- als in which information from this report is used. Image Credits: Luis Liwanag, Photojournalist Center for Reproductive Rights 120 Wall Street, 14th Floor New York, NY 10005 United States Tel +1 917 637 3600 Fax +1 917 637 3666 [email protected] www.reproductiverights.org 2 FORSAKEN LIVES: THE HARmFuL ImPACT OF THE PHILIPPINE CRImINAL ABORTION BAN FORSAKEN LIVES: THE HARmFuL ImPACT OF THE PHILIPPINE CRImINAL ABORTION BAN 3 Table of Contents Purpose of the Report .................................................................................................................2 OUR MISSION Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... The Center for Reproductive Rights uses the law 3 to advance reproductive freedom as a fundamental Glossary and List of Common Acronyms ...............................................................................4 human right that all governments are legally obligated to protect, respect, and fulfill. Executive Summary .................................................................................................................. 13 OUR VISION Methodology and Structure of the Report ........................................................................... 21 Reproductive freedom lies at the heart of the Recommendations ..................................................................................................................... 22 promise of human dignity, self-determination, and equality embodied in both the U.S. Unsafe Abortion and Women’s Reproductive Health Constitution and the Universal Declaration of and Rights in the Philippines ................................................................................................ 29 Human Rights. The Center works toward the Experiences of Women Under the Criminal Abortion Ban ............................................. 42 time when that promise is enshrined in law in the United States and throughout the world. The Dilemmas and Challenges Faced We envision a world where every woman is free to by Providers ............................................................................................................................... 65 decide whether and when to have children; where every woman has access to the best reproductive The Legal and Political Context of the Abortion Ban ....................................................... 77 healthcare available; and where every woman can exercise her choices without coercion or International Human Rights, Ethical Norms, and Comparative Law ............................. 93 discrimination. More simply put, we envision a Conclusion ................................................................................................................................112 world where every woman participates with full dignity as an equal member of society. FORSAKEN LIVES: THE HARmFuL ImPACT OF THE PHILIPPINE CRImINAL ABORTION BAN FORSAKEN LIVES: THE HARmFuL ImPACT OF THE PHILIPPINE CRImINAL ABORTION BAN 1 Purpose of the Report Acknowledgements The purpose of this report is to examine and expose human rights violations resulting This report is a publication of the Center for Reproductive Rights. We are grateful to the from the imposition of a criminal prohibition on abortion in the Philippines based women, families and health service providers who shared their experiences with us. on the experiences of women who have undergone unsafe abortion procedures and Without their courage, forthrightness and trust, this report would not have been possible. survived to tell their stories. It provides a human rights analysis of women’s experiences We are also grateful to experts in the Philippines and the Center who reviewed drafts of and exposes the failure of the government of the Philippines to protect and promote the report and provided critical input at various stages of its development. women’s reproductive rights by not taking adequate steps to prevent unsafe abortion related deaths, morbidity, discrimination and abuse as mandated by international law. Because of threats, harassment and intimidation frequently directed at those advocating for women’s reproductive rights in the Philippines, we have decided not to list many Criminal bans on abortion are harmful not only to women but also undermine entire of our sources by name. Pseudonyms have been used to protect the identities of the health systems. As such, in addition to documenting the experiences of women, this women whose testimonies are included in this report. report further sheds light on the role of health service providers who are sometimes guilty of perpetrating abuse as a result of abortion stigma created by the criminal The Center for Reproductive Rights takes full responsibility for the views and opinions ban and conflicting personal values. As revealed by the testimonies, often health presented in this report. professionals face their own dilemmas and challenges as they find themselves caught between the criminal ban, an unsupportive health system, and their ethical duties toward their patients. This report is intended to serve as a starting point for a dialogue on government accountability for the human suffering caused by the criminal ban on abortion and the challenges it creates for health service providers. It includes recommendations for a range of entities, including government actors, based on State obligations under international law and insights provided by those interviewed for this report. 2 FORSAKEN LIVES: THE HARmFuL ImPACT OF THE PHILIPPINE CRImINAL ABORTION BAN FORSAKEN LIVES: THE HARmFuL ImPACT OF THE PHILIPPINE CRImINAL ABORTION BAN 3 Glossary and List of Common Acronyms TERM DEFINITION/EXPLANATION/ACRONYM TERM DEFINITION/EXPLANATION/ACRONYM Abortifacient A substance that induces abortion. Concluding Observations Comments and recommendations issued to the reporting State Party by the respective treaty monitoring body. Association of Southeast ASEAN Cortal A pain killer locally available in Philippines called Asian Nations Cortal, containing caffeine and acetylsalicylic acid. Barangay The smallest administrative division in the Philippines; it is Cytotec or misoprostol Cytotec is a brand version of misoprostol, a drug used to the native Filipino term for a village, district, neighborhood, or prevent gastric ulcers, for early abortion, to treat missed ward. miscarriages and to induce labor. It is a small pill that can be taken orally or broken in pieces and inserted vaginally. Beijing Platform for Action Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, United Nations In hospitals it is used to ripen a woman’s cervix and induce Fourth World Conference on Women: Consensus document labor. When administered to pregnant women unmonitored, it adopted by nations participating in the Beijing Conference. can cause abortion, premature birth, or birth defects. Uterine rupture has also been reported when Cytotec was administered to women beyond the eighth week of pregnancy. Blottering A practice followed in certain Philippine hospitals of officially recording personal and/or medical information related to an DOH alleged illegal abortion in the hospital medico-legal logbook; Department of Health this book is referred to as a blotter. Dilation and curettage (D&C) The “dilation” (widening/opening) of the cervix and surgical Bureau of Food and Drugs, now called the BFAD removal of part of the lining of the uterus, or its contents, Food and Drug Administration by scraping, “curettage.” It is a therapeutic gynecological procedure. Drugs that act to prevent ovulation and/or fertilization. Catholic Bishops’ Conference In the Roman Catholic Church, an Episcopal Conference, Emergency contraception of the Philippines Conference of Bishops, or National Conference of Bishops is an official assembly of all the bishops of a given territory. Encyclical In the Roman Catholic Church, an encyclical is a papal letter Catholic Church hierarchy In the Catholic Church, hierarchy has a variety of usages, but addressed to the bishops of the Church, or to the hierarchy of a it is literally defined as “holy government.” The hierarchical particular country. nature of the church is considered to be of divine institution and essential to the Church itself. Executive Order 003 (EO) In 2000, former Mayor of Manila City, Jose “Lito” Atienza, Catechism A manual describing the essentials of Catholic faith and introduced Executive Order 003, which restricts access to doctrine in the form of questions followed by answers that contraceptives in public health facilities, making contraceptives are to be memorized; also, an elementary book containing a prohibitively difficult to access, leading to unplanned summary of the principles of the Christian religion, especially pregnancies. as maintained by a particular church, in the form of questions