REPRODUCTIVE health advocates on Friday urged the Supreme Court to lift the ban on the use of contraceptives.
At a news conference, Dr. Jeepy Perez of the Commission on Population asserted that Republic Act 10354 was enacted into law to give the Filipino women the opportunity to have safe and planned pregnancies, but the temporary restraining order issued by the high court had deprived women of protection.
Childbirth complications have also killed thousands of mothers, he said, adding one of the law’s objectives was to prevent unnecessary deaths to happen.
The group said teen pregnancies may hit 291,700 this year if ban is not lifted
Planned pregnancies would enable couples to achieve their desired number of children and young people to escape the perils of teenage pregnancy, he cited.
RA 10354 provided the legal mechanism for the poor to have access to reproductive health care and improve the chances of mothers and their babies to live longer, he pointed out.
“Abject poverty has oppressed generations. This is significantly because parents are unable to care and provide for their many children the education and other opportunities necessary to advance in life. The RPRH law gave poor families hope that their dream of a better future can be achieved,” he said in a statement.
Millions of poor mothers and women welcome the previous declaration of the Supreme Court of the reproductive health’s constitutionality, he said.
“However, the high court issued a TRO blocking the Department of Health and its agencies to fully implement the law,” he added.
The ban is affecting 13.4- million Filipino women, with 6.1 million of them presently using contraceptives and the remaining 7.3 million still to be reached by family planning specialists.
Because of the TRO, no new registration for contraceptives could be approved.
“New legal cases will ensue and delays will continue. Stocks will run out and contraceptives will no longer be available in the market. Even those with money will not have access to these vital commodities anymore,” Perez said.
He raised concern over the probability that more women would die due to unwanted pregnancy and childbirth-related complications.
In 2016 alone, 5,042 Filipinas would perish just giving birth, or an equivalent of 14 women dying per day.
Perez urged the Supreme Court to remove the ban.
The Purple Movement and Philippine Legislative Committee on Population and Development joined the call to lift the ban.