Thesis Proposal: Rh Law in the Philippines

In the mid-1980's, according to Chinese government statistics, birth control surgeries such as abortions, sterilizations, and IUD insertions, were running at a rate of 30 million a year. (Mosher 50) Numbers for more recent years are unavailable; the Chinese government, embarrassed by reports of coercion and female infanticide, has refused to release them. Many, if not most, of these operations are performed on women whose "consent" has been wrung out of them by threats and punishments. (Mosher 50) When questions are asked of the whereabouts of the 1.7 million female babies that fail to show up in birth statistics each year, there are disturbing explanations. (Richards 6)

I will compare the adaptation of both domestic and international legislation like penal codes and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women in both El Salvador and the Philippines. I will also briefly discuss Catholicism and its influence on the legislation being passed in both countries. Section two will also be comprised of a comparison of women’s advocacy groups in both El Salvador and the Philippines. I will demonstrate how these groups affect the discourse on reproductive rights and how they enforce changes, if any.

However, people fail, and not only because of lack of education or responsibility, but also because of simple contraceptives unavailability. At this stage, a woman face a perspective of bearing and having an unplanned and consequently, unwanted child.

he most significant reason against this policy includes the violation of female rights in behalf of the government deciding the number of infants a family have to have and the increment of crime against women. Since, 1979 the law has prevented around 250 million births since ultrasound tests and abortions became easier to access (Doc E). Also, since ultrasound tests are more accessible this policy created sex discrimination and the number of abortions increased since they could find out earlier if they were expecting a male or female (Doc E). It is imperative to mention that since there's fewer woman, woman became more vulnerable to suffer a crime against them and it represents the power the government is capable of using. This information

Maternal mortality represents more than the loss of lives for individual women, as it also reflects the larger value and prioritization of women 's health and threatens the health and survival of families, young children, and even the communities in which they live (Royston and Armstrong, 1989). Maternal mortality is unacceptably high (WHO, 2015b). Globally, approximately 830 women die every day from pregnancy- or childbirth-related complications (ibid.). The causes of maternal mortality are predominately preventable and can be classified into three fundamental causes: (1) medical - consisting of direct medical problems and pre-existent/coexistent medical problems that are aggravated by pregnancy, (2) underlying - social and legal conditions, and (3) health systems laws and policies that address availability, accessibility, and quality of reproductive health services (PHP et al, 2011).

Women’s reproductive rights have been endangered from early history. A woman’s job included housework and child birth. Around 1920, women started receiving their choices and rights. In the 21st century, women are looked at with fairness and receive equal opportunities, but there is one right being stripped from women: the choice of using birth control and aborting pregnancy. Society frowns upon aborting a fetus in the womb, but it fails to realize the circumstantial standing each woman is placed in and should accept the decision a woman decides for her future whether it is to use birth control or abort her pregnancy.

Over the years women have struggled with wanted and unwanted pregnancies. Planned parenthood and not ?planned parenthood? has become a choice for some women. Variables will come into affect for each of theses women and certain circumstances will effect their decision to have an abortion or not to have an abortion. The populations in the research are women from sixteen to twenty-nine with information including ethical dilemmas, society influence, religious backgrounds, health issues, sexual activity, substance abuse, rape, financial issues, family /relationship dynamics, long term implications with physical and mental affects and legal ramifications and acts will be covered in this paper. The research will have statistics, evidenced based facts and legal documented court decisions, physical and mental health issues with interventions. Plan for change will be a consideration to help with this topic of abortion.

The topic of women’s reproductive rights has become a major, controversial issue in today’s society. Grounded in a history of opposition for religious, political, and moral reasons, reproductive rights have only legally been around for a short period of history. Specifically, the landmark case Roe v. Wade was the major stride that this country took towards enforcing women’s reproductive rights. The ruling for this case determined that reproductive rights are legal rights women hold, inclusive of the right to have abortions. However, many laws today are made in an effort to prevent abortions, acting as “undue burdens” that aim to create obstacles for women who seek this type of medical procedure.

The landscape of health care is changing, however despite the adoption of the ACA, Americans are struggling to obtain quality healthcare services due to their geographic and psychographic limitations. The geographic disparity is due to the historic state-by-state coverage variation of low-income adults through government sponsored health care programs leaving an estimated 10 million adults with limited to no health insurance coverage and limited services in some rural areas of America (Gabow, 2013). Furthermore, as the age of the population increases and the fertility rate decreases the physiological maker of menarche where sociological determents of reproduction behavior, marriage, sterilization, infertility and sociological patters such

The 21st century would bring a new surge towards equal rights for women. Issues such as abortion and reproductive rights, wage rights and discrimination based on gender, are just a few of the issues women are facing in the 21st century. The National Organization for Women reports women should have access reproductive health and family planning services, including abortion. Abolishing the ability for women to access those health services violates a “fundamental human right” notes NOW. According to NOW, a severe and continuing shortage of family planning services and contraceptive products leads to an estimated 76 million unplanned pregnancies worldwide, according to the U.N. Population Fund (2005). Not granting these services to women leaves them at a huge risk. An estimated seventy-eight thousand women die each year around the world.

This harkens back to before 1973, when birth control and sex education was not as readily available, not always effective and never discussed in most families. Those old cultural issues are no longer relevant and therefore women should be responsible enough to use birth control and find effective contraceptives. Boston Globe columnist Ellen Goodman, an advocate for abortion, recently wrote, “After all, those of us who remember…when 10,000 American women a year died from illegal abortions don’t have to imagine a world without choices” (Goodman). This is one of many reasons why pro-choice members support legal abortion. This statistic, however, contradicts the Center for Disease Control who recorded in 1957 that only thirty-nine women died due to illegal abortions (Horn). While thirty-nine is still a significant number, it does not compare to Goodman’s estimate of 10,000, a number pro-choice supporters use to justify legal abortion. It is also very difficult to determine if abortions are safe because only “27 states require providers to report post-abortion complications” (“Abortion Reporting Requirements”). Another topic that enrages pro-choice supporters is the issue of rape. Many Americans believe that abortion should be allowed because of rape cases, albeit, less than one percent of the majority of abortions are due to rape cases. Pro-choice supporters also tend to argue that the legality of abortions must be continued following rape. There are however, emergency post-rape contraception that significantly reduces the incidents of pregnancy. According to some doctor’s views, this is a neglected preventative health measure (Steward and Trussell). While legal abortions, according to pro-choice members, are instituted for giving women the choice to choose, it

It is suggested that women should enjoy an active sex life without bearing a child. In La Operacion, women in Puerto Rico were forced to get sterilized in order to keep their job and the birth rate at three children per family. (La Operacion Video) Also, many women were not informed about the sterilization and realized that they could not have any children. The reproductive rights of the Puerto Rican women were used as an experiment and most women became upset knowing the operation could not be undone. In addition to sterilization, it was the only option that was free to the women who wanted to keep their jobs at a low wage and whose husbands approved rather than paying for an abortion. In relations to it, women in America started using Lysol as a birth control contraceptive and 507 of the women ended up being pregnant. Due to false advertisement, 193 women were poisoned and 5 were killed by the contraceptive. (Mother Jones,

One approach to eliminating the need for abortion and satisfy both pro-choice and pro-life advocates, is to introduce more extensive sex education courses and make contraceptives more widely available. Contraception and sex education is such widely used in Western Europe that their rates of unwanted pregnancies, teenage pregnancies, and abortion are much lower

Women’s reproductive rights are a global issue in today’s world. Women have to fight to have the right to regulate their own bodies and reproductive choices, although in some countries their voices are ignored. Abortion, sterilization, contraceptives, and family planning services all encompass this global issue of women’s reproductive rights.

Nowadays, the world seems to get even more and more liberal. Everyone is fighting for their own rights without even trying to see a wider view of it, or how will it affect their lives aftermath. Abortion gets even more alarming due to the results of the study conducted by the Researchers from Guttmacher Institute and the University of the Philippines Populations Institute, wherein there were over 470,000 cases of it, has been performed in the Philippines. In 2010, there were projected 90,000 hospitalizations recorded due to abortion complications. Abortion is a danger to the lives of many women of our country. Thus, Abortion should not be legalized in the Philippines for it is a painful surgery that could even cause further harm in physical and psychological health.