Recently, certain groups have been actively working to promote abortion by overt moves to legalize it in the Philippines and offering possibilities for “safe and legal abortion” through webinars, online discussions, and social media posts.
Under the guise of public conversations on how to “legally give women access to safe abortion”, these groups are openly defying established laws strictly prohibiting and penalizing all forms of abortion in the Philippines and boldly inciting violation thereof.
We denounce, in the strongest terms, all such efforts as blatant disrespect to the right to life from conception enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution. These moves are offensive to sensibilities of a society who value life, and are contrary to morals, public order, and public policy.
Abortion, however you call it or whatever form it takes, is plain and simple killing of a defenseless human being. There cannot be any “legal” form of abortion under our constitutional framework; it is, in fact, expressly outlawed and punished under our Revised Penal Code. Neither is there a “safe” form of abortion, as the intentional killing of the unborn will always weigh heavily on the mental and physical well-being of the mother.
We encourage the public to voice out their dissent and opposition to these kinds of fora that seek to undermine the value of life and corrupt the minds of the youth in our society. We could instead take many other positive steps and measures to protect the unborn and the mothers, such as working with private organizations to create a wide network of crisis pregnancy centers.
We call on the authorities to discharge their constitutional mandate to protect the life of the unborn from the slightest form of danger or threat, mindful that this is indispensable to a just and humane society.