Abortion in the Philippines has been criminalized for over a century causing women to risk their lives, either through unsafe abortion or through the continuation of life-threatening pregnancies. Under the Revised Penal Code, medical professionals who perform abortions in the Philippines with the consent of pregnant women face up to 6 years in prison while women who undergo an abortion for any reason may be imprisoned for two to six years. The Philippines has one of the strictest abortion laws in the world, punishing persons seeking access to abortion healthcare and those who help them with imprisonment. Because of this, Filipino women resort to unsafe methods to end their unintended pregnancies.

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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 73 million induced abortions take place worldwide each year. Six out of ten of all unintended pregnancies end in induced abortion and around 45% of all abortions are unsafe, of which 97% take place in developing countries.

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Unsafe abortion is defined as “a procedure for terminating an unintended pregnancy carried out either by persons lacking the necessary skills or in an environment that does not conform to minimal medical standards or both.” Women who are not able to access safe abortion often resort to unsafe abortions which can cause damage to a woman’s body. Unsafe abortion can cause incomplete abortion (failure to remove or expel all pregnancy tissue from the uterus), hemorrhage, infection, damage to the genital tract and internal organs as a consequence of inserting dangerous objects into the vagina or anus, and uterine perforation. Other unmeasurable consequences of unsafe abortion include anxiety, depression, loss of productivity, and psychological damage.

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Providing safe abortion: A medical necessity

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Access to safe abortion protects the sexual and reproductive rights of women by giving women and mothers the voice to decide for their own well-being. Women, in particular, have the ability to make decisions about their reproductive health, which means they have the choice over their own future. As a result, reproductive rights are an essential element of a free society, without which women would not be able to achieve true equality.

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Safe abortions are performed with a procedure recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and when an individual carrying out the abortion has the necessary skills. Safe, legal abortion conducted by trained health care providers with proper technique, correct equipment, and sanitary standards save women’s lives, decreases maternal injury of women and lessens physical health risks. Internationally, the development and use of clinical guidelines and standards by the World Health Organization (WHO) are believed to have helped the implementation of safe abortion. Furthermore, several countries have widened the access to safe procedures by allowing skilled midlevel health providers to perform abortions.