The discussion of abortion has always been a difficult one, with people everywhere around the world being strongly divided on the subject. Recently, the state of Alabama in the USA passed an anti-abortion law that totally bans the procedure—a news that made headlines and resulted to a global discussion on the subject.
With all these recent talks surrounding abortion laws, it got us to thinking: how do Filipinos feel about abortion? Should it be legal here?
Right now, it isn’t. And as a country with such strong religious (and not to mention conservative) roots, it seems unlikely to happen anytime soon. But we wanted to find out how Pinoys feel on the subject and whether they think it should be legalized here or not. So, we asked our readers a question: “Should abortion be made legal in the Philippines?”
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We kept our respondents’ names off this article to protect their identities, but all answers found below are authentic and are real responses submitted to us through our WIM Squad community on Facebook.
DISCLAIMER: The responses below are individual opinions from our community of readers and therefore do NOT necessarily reflect the opinions of WhenInManila.com as a whole.
Image: www.instagram.com/maegamimami
Here’s what people said.
1. “No, I don’t think abortion should be made legal in the Philippines. If women think they’re practicing their right because “it’s their body”, then who are we to take away the right of the unborn child? Shouldn’t we protect their rights to live, too?
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2. “I think abortion should be made legal, especially to those women who are rape victims. Because having a child after a traumatic experience can be detrimental for them for life.”
3. “My body, my choice. Regardless of tradition or religion, every woman must have the right to choose whether to get an abortion or not, should they want or need to. The hypocrisy of forcing women to have children they don’t want is absurd, especially for those who impose these rules and not upholding them after the child is born. Basically: pro-lifers only care about unborn babies. They stop giving a shit after, which begs the question: were they really pro-lifers in the first place or are they just controlling women?”
4. “Abortion as an option. Consider those who are victims of sexual abuse and those who have to terminate the pregnancy due to complications or possible threat to women’s health.”
5. “Yes, I believe it should be legal. People can’t keep using the “put the baby up for adoption” when they won’t acknowledge just how f*d up the system is. People have to understand that abortion is rarely, if ever, done out of spite or hatred of another living being. It’s acknowledging a person’s capability and/or their desire to be pregnant and raise a child.”
6. “Yes, but educate the public on safe sex more than abortion as an option especially for a country where poverty and population are issues.”
7. “Yes, it should be legal. I wouldn’t do it personally, but it should be an option to every women.”
8. “No. Philippines’ religion influence is higher than any other factors. Many contradictions will exist so as hard core debates in any further means of abortion topics etc.”
9. “For special cases, YES. Like for rape victims or health issues. Pero kung ang rason ay dahil gusto lang at hindi handa sa pinagbubuntis, oh com’on! Why did you do it without protection?”
10. “I am pro-choice. While I would never choose an abortion for myself, I do support other women’s right to do so as long as the legalities are clearly defined i.e. no late-term abortions, special provision for cases of rape and incest. Keeping it illegal doesn’t stop it from happening. It only means women are forced to undergo unsafe, fatal procedures.”
