essay about abortion in the philippines

Abortion - a Crime or a Cause to Fight For?  by Danijela Ramone L. Cruz 

To quote the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a woman’s life, to her well-being and dignity. It is a decision she must make for herself.”1 Making the decision to bear and raise a child is not an easy task - it requires great amounts of effort, perseverance, and determination, if one wants to do it well. Mothers often struggle through sleepless nights and have to deal with the responsibilities that come with properly raising members of the next generation. This being said, while motherhood is an honorable thing, one problem arises within the Philippines - the rising number of women who have the unwanted responsibility of becoming mothers thrust on them. 

Data shows that over one in three (36%) of pregnancies in the Philippines are unwanted, being either mistimed or completely unplanned.2 A study done by researchers from the Guttmacher Institute attributed this to one significant issue - the increased lack of access to proper contraceptives. Contraceptives had previously been supplied to Filipinos for free by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), but this was discontinued in 2008 in the hopes of the Philippine government becoming more self-sufficient.3 Unfortunately, this led to an increased reliance on private suppliers which, in turn, has led to the higher cost of contraceptives and thus has reduced their accessibility. 

Those from other nations could simply conclude that one solution to this problem would be for Filipino women to turn to abortion instead. However, here arises another significant problem within the Philippines - the criminalization of abortion. Although it could save lives and benefit numerous women throughout the country, abortion is still punishable by the law, with its criminalization being implemented nationwide. This has led to women losing their rights to making personal decisions related to pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood. To make matters worse, it also forces women to continue on with unwanted pregnancies despite the numerous health complications that may arise. 

In addition, there have been no moves from the national executive branch to legalize abortion4. Despite the supposed separation of church and state within the Philippines, lawmakers still refuse to legalize abortion on the basis of religious beliefs and values. The laws imposing on our women’s rights to control what happens to their bodies are deeply rooted in religious biases, revealing great systemic flaws in need of public attention. To our president’s credit, he has shown strong support for family planning and the distribution of contraceptives. However, he still faces opposition from religious lawmakers and institutions, particularly the Catholic Church. If family planning and the use of contraceptives alone already face hostility from our authorities, then how much more abortion? 

Being presented with this information, what else could we conclude to being the greatest challenge to women and girls today but the criminalization of abortion? Sadly, all women and girls are affected by this, but poor, rural, and younger women in particular are more vulnerable as many of them do not have the financial resources required to access safe abortion services. Many of them have turned to having illegal abortions performed on them, but even these are too expensive for some as they range from 2000-5000 PHP5. 

With all this in mind, a new question arises: what can we, as a people, do to remedy this problem? How can we address the glaring systemic flaws that are imposing on Filipino women’s rights? We don’t have to stand idly by and watch as our fellow women suffer from the life-changing difficulties surrounding unwanted motherhood. For one, we can begin by opening discussions on exceptions to abortion in cases involving rape, incest, and health problems that arise by keeping the fetus. Not only that, but we should continue advocating for the right of each woman to make decisions involving her reproductive system. By doing this, we can help not only the public, but even our government, understand the need for every Filipino woman’s easy and safe access to abortion. 

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Abortion In The Philippines Essay

Summary of abortion should not be restricted by diana brown.

According to Gale, an online library, defines abortion as “a medical or surgical procedure that ends a pregnancy” (Abortion). The ethnic issues behind abortion that has been going on for many years. The woman’s right to abortion has created such turmoil around the world because it goes against people’s religious beliefs. It is also seen as the murder of a human. In the articles, “Abortion Should Be Legal” by Stephen Currie and “Abortion Should Not Be Restricted” by Diana Brown, both authors agree that abortion should not be illegal and considered as an acceptable practice by society. Two articles, by Pope John Paul II and by Raymond J. Adamek, these men feel that abortion is not morally correct and is murder. Even though abortion has become a common procedure in America, one still asks if abortion

Conflict Theories Of Abortion

Abortion refers to the termination of a pregnancy by removing or taking out the fetus or embryo from the uterus prematurely or before it is ready for birth. There are two major forms of abortion: spontaneous, which is often referred to as a miscarriage and as the name suggests is unintentional or the purposeful abortion, which is most often abortion induced by medication or other such ways. The term abortion is commonly used to refer to the induced abortion, and this is the particular abortion, which has been filled with controversy. In developed nations, induced abortions are the most dependable and trustworthy form of medical procedures in medicine if it is performed under the auspices of the local law. Thus, abortions are possibly the most

Sociological Theory Of Abortion Essay

Abortion is a huge problem, not just in the United States but also all over the world. Abortion is a termination of a pregnancy, usually within the first 28 weeks. Some people believe abortion is murder, while others believe it is not. Abortion is a social problem. In order to be a social problem, the issue must affect a group of people. People who are pro-life, believe abortion should not be legal, while some people believe that the fetus is not a living person therefore it should be legal. There are also people who are in the middle, they are neutral, they are neither for or against abortions. If abortion is illegal then it will still happen. Women would still find a way to still have abortions but, they will be taking a greater risk in having them done. Abortion affects many people. Some women disagree with the idea, while others agree. Some religions believe it is a sin to have an abortion. Abortion

Thesis Statement On Abortion

Thesis Statement: Abortion has been a major topic throughout the years, there has been much debate between pro-choice and pro-life but if people can come together to reach comprises it could help society make positive progress.

Persuasive Essay On Abortion

Firstly, some woman may be victims of rape at any time. This is one the biggest reasons why abortion is considered normal and the solution for such a problem. A lot of woman have faced rape and could not accept the fact of becoming pregnant in this way. The woman may find it very hard to raise a baby born in these circumstances with no legal marriage and no father to take care of the child. The family’s girl may also become a victim as critics will increase towards this girl’s honor. In addition, if the woman choose to have this child; at some points in her life, it will remind her of the event when she got raped which will bring her bad memories and create a long lasting trauma. Rape of woman takes place in many countries, a woman who is coming back home from a long night in dangerous

Literature Review On Abortion

Abortion is a general term used to define the removal of a foetus from the uterus. According to Guidelines on Termination of Pregnancy in Malaysia (2012), termination of pregnancy refers to therapeutic abortion performed usually to preserve the mother’s life. There is on-going debate over legal, moral, religious and ethical issues of abortion. In resolving such issue, psychologist must be aware of the heavy legal, ethical and religious obligations associated with termination of pregnancy beyond clinical judgement. The best practice in making decisions in this type of issues involves finding a balance between risks and benefits (Guidelines on Termination of Pregnancy, 2012). For example, finds out whether continuing or terminating a pregnancy cause greater physical or psychological harms and risks to the mother. On the other hand, Bonevski & Adams (2001) further added that abortion may expose the mother to grief and regret. As such, it is important to gain mother’s consent before making the decision.

Essay On Abortion Is Not Murder

The procedure of an abortion does more good for the mother and family than it prevents a life from occurring. The mother’s body should be respected, as it always should be. The mother’s life should always be put in priority. When rape is placed into the world of possibility behind pregnancy then a woman should always be helped during a traumatic event such as a rape. Even the idea of monetary struggles of families should be observed. These exact situations are some of the leading reasons that abortions should always be offered to the party seeking one without question. The recent changes in the American political climate with the election of Donald Trump as president has led to fear among. The growing fear of losing the right to abort has many women scared, as they would be stuck with the trauma of rape or monetary burden. This is simply not ok for us to do to women. As stated, abortion is not murder due to the simple fact that a murder takes place during a struggle between two or more parties. The fetus does not have a voice during the procedure, but without the mother giving life internally to the fetus it would never be in the first

Social Problem Of Abortion In Society

In contras, each year in Indonesia, millions of women become pregnant unintentionally, and many choose to end their pregnancies, despite the fact that abortion is generally illegal. Abortion due to unwanted pregnancy is considered the best solution. Whereas it is the same as solving the problem with a new problem. Like many pregnant women by “accident” in many developing countries where abortion is stigmatized and highly restricted, Indonesian women often seek abortion with harm procedures performed by untrained providers (for example; dukun). Some women already know the negative impact of having an abortion but most women tend to ignore it.

Argumentative Essay On Abortion

Abortion is the ending of pregnancy by abolishing a fetus or embryo before it can survive outside the uterus. Abortion is a very controversial topic, for example, one side of this topic believes abortion is cruel and committing murder, while the other side believes that since the fetus or embryo isn 't developed enough to be considered a living human being yet, that abortion is not commiting murder. Despite this information, there is a lot more to abortion than the opinion of it being “right” or “wrong”.

Cause And Effect Essay On Abortion

Abortion is in fact the ending of pregnancy before birth and refers to the destruction of the embryo or foetus prior to life by removing the fetus in the uterus. An abortion can be either occurs naturally, that is due to an accident, disease, trauma or genetic incompatibility of the mother and foetus. Or, it can occur artificially, that is the foetus is removed by medical means or in the backstreet by unqualified people known as charlatans. Such risky abortions often result in septicaemia. Abortion is a major problem affecting most couples especially when contraceptives are ineffective. Abortion is accepted in many countries such as Indian and China but illegal in others countries. There is a huge debate all around the world whether to legalize abortion or not.

Summary: A Defense Of Abortion

Abortion is one of the most controversial topics discussed in our world today. Millions of fetuses never got a chance to be born because a mother chose to abort them. Although I do not believe in abortion, I believe a woman should have the right to decide whether to have a baby or not. Our textbook presents views and arguments on the issues.

Ethical Issues Of Abortion Essay

Since ancient times, abortions have been done using herbal medicines, sharp tools, with force, or through other traditional methods. Abortion laws and religious views of abortions are different around the world. In some areas abortion is legal only in special cases such as rape, problems with the fetus, poverty, risk to a woman's health, or incest. Abortions are very common around the world. 3 out of 10 women in the U.S. have an abortion by the time they are 45 years old. It is estimated that 1.2 million babies are aborted every year (Guttmatcher Institute 2011).

page 66). These are based on the argument that for one group, it should be

Critical Analysis Of Abortion

“Abortion -should it be a right of every woman in the present context- A critical analysis”

The Morality Of Abortion

Abortion is much more than a question of how religious you truly are, but rather how much you value morality and life. From a moral standpoint, there is no explanation to why abortion should be legal and supported. Morality is mostly objective and there is a baseline for cultures all around the world, rape is bad, theft is bad, murder is bad, except when it’s an embryo or baby. But to even talk about that we need to know why abortion is horrible.

More about Abortion In The Philippines Essay

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The Issue Of Abortion On The Philippines Essay

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Abortion is one of about six major issues that the public considers when voting (Witwer). It is a complex issue that has been passionately debated for centuries. The various methods used to carry out the procedure range from disassembling the fetus and crushing the skull in order to suck it all out of the woman’s womb to the procedure called RU-486, that gives the woman a pill to prevent her body from giving the fetus the nutrients to stay alive. Also, some consider certain forms of birth control, Norplant, IUD, and emergency contraceptives to be abortions as well. Many people argue about when in the pregnancy abortions should be allowed, if there should be an age limit, if abortion should be allowed only in certain

Abortion in the United States Essay

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Abortion has been a complex social issue in the United States ever since restrictive abortion laws began to appear in the 1820s. By 1965, abortions had been outlawed in the U.S., although they continued illegally; about one million abortions per year were estimated to have occurred in the 1960s. (Krannich 366) Ultimately, in the 1973 Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade, it was ruled that women had the right to privacy and could make an individual choice on whether or not to have an abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy. (Yishai 213)

Abortion: Pro-choice Essay

Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy. Since 1973 abortion has been an important controversial issue within the United States. 1973 marks the year that the famous Rowe versus Wade case was decided before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled that abortion be legal and available to all women. Legal abortions can be performed up until the sixteenth week of pregnancy, after sixteen weeks most doctors or clinics will not perform the procedure unless keeping the baby presents a medical risk to the mother. Even in these situations abortions are very risky after sixteen weeks.

The Issue Of Abortion And Abortion Essay

The issue of abortion is a controversial one; there are arguments on both sides of the debate. In 1973 the national case of Roe v. Wade, sparked political decisions that created a national right to abortion. Further, "Roe v. Wade declared that unborn children are not `persons ' nor are they entitled to the same constitutional protection as `born children '" (Baird, Rosenbaum, 2001). However, Roe v. Wade did not end the debate, nor, did it stop both sides for continuing the fight for their individual beliefs. On the one hand, pro-choice’s believe that woman are entitled to have abortions. Stating that an unborn child is under the rights of the pregnant women. On the other hand, pro-lifers believe that a woman should not have the right to obtain an abortion, stating that an unborn child is a human deserving the same constitutional rights as a child that has been born. The political goal most frequently mentioned by pro-lifers has been a Human Life Amendment (HLA) to thus, reverse Roe v. Wade. The HLA would declare unborn children to be "persons" deserving equal protection under the Constitution. From an ethical standpoint, one can take either side, for not only these reasons but also many more that we will further explore. I personally think that abortion is a decision that can only be made by the person in question, and not between that person and the government or an HLA. We well first look at the overall argument of the pro-choice side. After which, we will delve into the

Essay on Legality of Abortion

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Of all the legal, ethical, and moral issues we Americans continuously fight for or against, abortion may very well be the issue that Americans are most passionate about. The abortion issue is in the forefront of political races. Most recently the “no taxpayer funding for abortion act”, has abortion advocates reeling. Even though abortion has been legal in every state in the United States since the monumental Supreme Court decision, “Roe v Wade”, on January 22, 1973; there are fewer physicians willing to perform abortions today than in 2008. (Kraft) At the heart of the ethical dilemma for many in the medical profession is the viability of the fetus. And just to make this whole dilemma more confusing, according to the United States

The Moral Permissibility Of Abortion Essay

When faced with the choice of life or death, most people would choose to live. In fact, most would not want someone else making that decision for them. They would claim that as a living and independent entity it is solely their choice as to whether they continue to live or not. While this concept may seem fairly straightforward, there seems to be some great debate when it is applied to abortion. For many, they will maintain that the fetus has the right to life no matter the situation. There are some who will argue that abortion is morally permissible in specific circumstances and there are even those that will claim that abortion is always permissible. Why is there such a great divide? A major factor that plays a part in this is whether abortion involves more than one life. Because determining the beginning point of life is such a complex and emotional debate, there will be the same allowance in this paper as there was in Judith Jarvis Thomson’s “A Defense of Abortion”. As she eloquently put it “I propose then, that we grant that the fetus is a person from the moment of conception” (p. 721). This will allow for a look into the moral debate of abortion from a more grounded stage. As discussed early in Thomson’s paper, most of the debate on abortion rests on whether the fetus is alive or not. Whereas the focus should be on the many other aspects of pregnancies that may lead to a mother wanting an abortion.

Abortion Analytical Essay

The issue of abortion is one of the most sensitive and controversial issues faced by modern societies. This issue leads to topics of whether abortion is right or wrong, if it is the actual killing of a person, and what actually defines the moral status of a fetus. In this paper, I will be arguing against Bonnie Steinbock, who believes that abortions are morally acceptable. So I will be supporting the view that abortions are not morally acceptable.

The Moral Issue of Abortion Essay

lots of sites with the for or against argument. I had to go on the

The Ethical Issues Of Abortion Essay

Abortion is a highly-debated topic of whether it is ethical for a woman to decide to have one. Abortion is any of various surgical methods for deliberately terminating a pregnancy. When we speak of abortion today, we mean induced abortion performed by trained doctors, not including miscarriage (MacKinnon & Fiala, 2015). Some current methods of abortion are morning-after pill, mifepristone, uterine or vacuum aspiration, dilation and curettage, saline solution, prostaglandin drugs, hysterotomy, and partial birth abortion. Abortion involves questions about rights, happiness, and well-being, as well as the status and value of human life. The people who think it is ethical to have an abortion stand on the Pro-choice side and the people who think it is unethical stand on the Pro-life side. The liberal view of abortion supports abortions and the conservative view opposes abortion. There are many legal, religious, and medical conflicts that are included in the debate over abortion. The arguments made from both sides help us better understand whether a woman should have an abortion.

• 12 Works Cited

What is abortion? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “Abortion: the premature expulsion of a [foetus] from the womb; an operation to cause this.” Abortion has been a controversial topic for many years. Some people favor adoption and some are against it. “In 2008 an estimated 1.21 million abortions were performed in the Unites States.”(Jones, and Kooistra). Many opinions collaborate in abortions rights or abortion legislation. “In 2008, 84,610 women obtained abortions in Texas, producing a rate of 16.5 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age. Some of these women were from other states, and some Texas residents had abortions in other states, so this rate may not reflect the abortion rate of state residents. The rate decreased

The Problems with Abortion and Solutions Essays

Abortion is referred as the termination of a pregnancy or of a fetus that is incapable of survival (Dictionary.com). Abortion is morally wrong and illegal because the fetus is a person. It is the same thing as murder. The reasons people have abortions are they are not ready to handle the responsibility of another human being, the fetus may have a birth defect, mother’s heath is an issue, rape, or simply because they don’t want any more children (Abortioninfo). The majority of people that have abortions are teenagers. Abortion is flat out wrong and should be banned. Being that abortion is immoral no matter the circumstances, justifies the need for a law to make it illegal.

Abortion Around the World Essay

Today, 76 percent of the world's people live in countries where induced abortion is legal, at least for health reasons, and 39 percent reside in nations where abortion is available upon request. The procedure is legal in nearly every developed country, and although a majority of developing countries prohibit abortion, 67 percent of the residents of the developing world live in countries where it is permitted at least for health reasons. The other 33 percent-more than one billion people, most of living in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the more strongly fundamentalist Islamic nations-have little of no access to legal induced abortion.

Abortions Should not Be Legalized in the Philippines

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.

Essay on Abortion

Women may have an abortion for a variety of reasons, but in general they choose abortion because a pregnancy at that time is in some way wrong for them. “Abortion is the removal of a fetus from the uterus before it is mature enough to live on its own” (Kuechler 1996). When this happens spontaneously we call it a miscarriage. Induced abortion is brought about deliberately by a medical procedure that ends pregnancy. Legal abortion, carried out by trained medical practitioners, is one of the most common and safest surgical procedures. “About 1.5 million American women choose to have induced abortions each year. Less than 1% of all abortion patients experience a major complication associated with the procedure” (Kuechler 1996).

Discussion of Abortion Essay

     Abortion is the surgical termination of a pregnancy. How odd that people are able to define something, that is such a controversial issue, so easily. There are hundreds, thousands, and even millions of things to say about abortion. When it comes to abortion, I find myself thinking like a symbolic interactionist. Abortion is a personal social issue and it needs to be seen on a micro level first. Although abortion can also be seen on a macro level, seeing abortion on a micro level lets people see the different symbols of abortion. No social condition creates the same symbol. If abortion is seen on a macro level, all the myths and stereotypes of abortion seem more realistic. For example, some of those myths

Related Topics

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Abortion — Why Abortion Should Be Legalized: Argumentative Essay

Why Abortion Should Be Legalized in The Philippines

• Subject: Social Issues , Nursing & Health
• Category: Abortion Debate , Maintaining Health
• Essay Topic: Abortion , Pro Choice (Abortion) , Women's Health
• Words: 1331
• Published: 28 February 2023
• Downloads: 831

Table of contents

Introduction, why abortion should be legal.

• Gipson, J. D., Hirz, A. E., & Avila, J. L. (2011). Perceptions and practices of illegal abortion among urban young adults in the Philippines: a qualitative study. Studies in family planning, 42(4), 261-272. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1728-4465.2011.00289.x)
• Finer, L. B., & Hussain, R. (2013). Unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortion in the Philippines: context and consequences. (https://www.guttmacher.org/report/unintended-pregnancy-and-unsafe-abortion-philippines-context-and-consequences?ref=vidupdatez.com/image)
• Flavier, J. M., & Chen, C. H. (1980). Induced abortion in rural villages of Cavite, the Philippines: Knowledge, attitudes, and practice. Studies in family planning, 65-71. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1965798)
• Gallen, M. (1979). Abortion choices in the Philippines. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-biosocial-science/article/abs/abortion-choices-in-the-philippines/853B8B71F95FEBDD0D88AB65E8364509 Journal of Biosocial Science, 11(3), 281-288.
• Holgersson, K. (2012). Is There Anybody Out There?: Illegal Abortion, Social Work, Advocacy and Interventions in the Philippines. (https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A574793&dswid=4931)

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