Talk:Abortion in the Philippines

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[edit] Abortion to save the life of the mother

There is no law that expressly allows for a legal abortion when the pregnant mother's life is endangered. The provisions of the Revised Penal Code penalizing abortion do not provide for any qualifications when the pregnant mother's life is endangered. I've clicked on the UN profile that says that abortion in such an instance is authorized, but it does not cite the legal basis for such statement.

It can nonetheless be argued that that an abortion to save the mother's life might fall under the justifying circumstances in Article 11.4 of the Revised Penal Code, which legally justifies the commision of a criminal act "in order to avoid an evil or injury" (i.e., endangerment of the life of the mother). Yet there is no Supreme Court decision that validates or invalidates such a position. And while that argument could undoubtedly exempt the mother from criminal prosecution, it is not as certain whether persons who aid in the abortion (such as the doctors) could similarly avail of the justifying circumstance.

All told, I think it is extremely dangerous to assert without qualification or explanation that abortions in order to save the life of the mother are legal in the Philippines, especially in a public forum as Wikipedia which might be relief by a Filipina thinking about undergoing an abortion. I will amend the article to reflect the above, though if it can be established that there is a law or judicial precedent that says otherwise, I would welcome the correction.

--Anyo Niminus 12:09, 6 January 2007 (UTC)