Gender Primer Issue # 2: The Reproductive

Health Law

Brought to you by:

BRIEF HISTORY AND STATUS OF THE RH LAW

1. To show the current status of RA 10354 or the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 2. To discuss important contents of the law 3. To present data related to the reproductive health status of the country

OBJECTIVES

1999 • House Bill 8110 or the "Integrated Population and Development

Act of 1999, which pushes for universal access to reproductive health services was filed, but to no avail.

2002 • A similar bill HB 4110, which was the first bill to be called the "RH Bill"

was first filed. This will be refiled up until the 14th Congress.

2012 • After thirteen years of being pending in congress, RA 10354 or the

Act Providing for a National Policy on Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health was signed into law.

2013 • On March 2013, the Supreme Court issued a 120-day status quo

ante order against the law putting it on hold. • This July 9, 2013, the oral arguments shall be conducted to talk

about the legality of the controversial law.

1. To uphold the rights of every individual to make free and informed decisions related to reproductive health 2. To ensure maternal and child health, which include health of the unborn, and the safe delivery and birth of healthy children 3. To provide effective, and quality reproductive health care services and supplies essential to uphold reproductive health rights. 4. To promote and provide information and access, without bias, to all methods of family planning.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF RA 10354

MAIN PROVISIONS OF RA 10354

Provision of Reproductive Health Services and Supplies • Local Government Units (LGU's) shall be tapped to provide these • This includes the increased access to ethical, medically safe, legal,

accessible, affordable, non-abortifacient effective, and quality reproductive health services and supplies

Age-Appropriate Reproductive Health Education • Shall be taught by adequately trained teachers in formal and non-

formal educational system and integrated in relevant subjects • Some of the topics to be taught are values formation; teen

pregnancy; women’s rights and children’s rights; responsible teenage behavior; and responsible parenthood

• Flexibility in the formulation and adoption of appropriate course content, scope and methodology in each educational level or group shall be allowed only after consultations with parents-teachers-community associations, school officials and other interest groups.

• The Department of Education (DepED) shall formulate a curriculum which shall be used by public schools and may be adopted by private schools.

Other Important Provisions • Ensures the treatment for women who shall need health care

services due to post-abortion complications • Integrates family planning and responsible parenthood in anti-

poverty programs • Safeguards the reproductive health rights of female employees in

the workplace

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH FIGURES

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50

100

150

200

250

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

In th

ous

and

Year

Number of Live Births by Mothers Aged Below 20

Number of Fetal Deaths by Age of Mother

Number of Maternal Deaths by Age of Mother

REFERENCES

• http://www.rappler.com/nation/30621-rh-law-oral-arguments-a-week-before-tro-ends

• http://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/18730-rh-law-the-long-and-rough-road

• http://pcw.gov.ph/law/republic-act-10354 • National Statistics Office (www.census.gov.ph)

Some Notes: 1. It is alarming to see that there is an increasing trend on the number of teenage mothers. The contribution of teenage mothers ranged from 7.1 percent in 2000 to as high as 11.7 percent in 2010. 2. Fetal deaths from mothers aged below 20 years old consistently contributed more that 8 percent of the total each year with the highest percentage share of 8.9 recorded in 2009. i.e. 719 out of 8,043. 3. Maternal deaths recorded from the year 2000 to 2010 were more than 1,500 each year. Number of maternal deaths for teenage women ranged from 82 at the lowest (2001) to as high as 164 (2010). These figures represent 4.6 percent to 9.8 percent contribution to their respective totals each year.

UPHOLD THE RH LAW Wear Purple this July 9, 2013