Women Independency
By: Marcus Raphael Guevara
It is 2021, yet abortion is still not allowed in the Philippines, where here, at least one in three births is unplanned according to the 2008 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). As we can see, this matter has been a long-time problem among Filipinos since most of them have no choice but to continue the pregnancy even if they did not want it at all.
The Philippines is known for its high poverty rates since then, and that is why many Filipinos choose to do illegal abortions even though they might go to jail if caught in the act. On the other side, many people are not in favor of abortion because they believe that every person who chooses to do it will inevitably go to hell since the Philippines is a predominantly Christian country.
Many cases of unwanted pregnancy came from those men who didn't ask for consent to impregnate a woman. To add more to that, according to Martha Jean Sanchez, the rape rate in the Philippines are ten cases per a population of 100,000. The rape cases have been growing throughout the years, with an average annual rate of 19.08 percent since 2005. Raising a child requires full commitment to the duty and stable financial status, which is hard to attain if you are in a third-world country like the Philippines.
Unwanted pregnancies are mostly from teenagers who can’t support the child constantly. Philippines' teenage pregnancy has the second-highest rate in South East Asia according to a report from Save the Children's Global Childhood back in 2019, which is very alarming because a lot of children could be abandoned due to the lack of support so commonly, the best solution for this problem is for the children to be received by an orphanage.
Scientifically speaking, giving birth can also lead to death for them. The World Health Organization estimates that about 830 women die every day because of complications during pregnancy and childbirth. With that being said, it is clear that they are the only ones who have the right to decide on their own. If we genuinely care for the children out there, we must think of the children in orphanages, women who get pregnant because of rape, and the hungry children whose parents couldn't provide anything for them.
We can be pro-life for ourselves but pro-choice for others. We are not allowed to control anyone and push our beliefs onto them. As long as it is not anyone's feelings, there should be no problem with that. Only they can decide for their body, and I agree with it. It is their life, and it is their choice.
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