THE Forum for Family Planning and Development expresses grief on Friday for the decision of the Supreme Court not to lift the TRO on implants.
“We lament the decision of the Supreme Court to extend the TRO on implants,” said Benjamin de Leon, president of the Forum for Family Planning and Development.
He said the decision sets back the full implementation of the RH Law despite the call of the President of the Republic for its full implementation when he delivered his very first State of the Nation Address.
SC Spokesperson Theodore Te said that now is not the right time, yet to lift the temporary restraining order on the RH Law.
The group expressed grave disappointment that their struggle to implement the RH Law is still met with so many barriers and challenges.
“We cannot emphasize enough the fact that it is our poor women and couples who are burdened by the effects of such barriers and opposition,” he said.
“Every day that this TRO is in effect, hundreds of women remain at risk from health issues that are otherwise easily preventable. When would be the right time lift the TRO? When more poor women are dead?” added De Leon.
De Leon further emphasized the need to act fast and vigorously on family planning.
“It would have been better for the Filipino people had the Supreme Court lifted the TRO and remanded the issue to the DoH which has the responsibility in determining whether modern methods of contraception are abortifacient or otherwise, after observing due process,” said De Leon.
He concluded that empowering the country’s women to make more sensible life decisions will create a strong impact on the country’s social and economic development.
Besides pushing for the use of contraceptives, the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law also calls for maternal health care and awareness. The RH Law stresses on education among the public, the women especially, on how to take care of themselves before and during pregnancy.
The latest figures from the Family Health Surveys reveal that the number of Filipino women who have died due to pregnancy and child-birth related complications remain high at 221 deaths per 100,000 live births. This means that there are 14-15 maternal deaths daily.