Identification of abortifacient contraceptives pushed

Senator Ralph Recto and two former senators on Monday said there is a need to specify in the law which contraceptives are abortifacient and should be considered illegal in the country. During the day's hearing on the bills seeking to protect unborn children, Recto stressed that there is a need to determine which contraceptives should be declared illegal and which are safe for distribution to the public. "You cannot pass the RH (Reproductive Health) bill without determining what are legal contraceptives," Recto said, adding that this is one of the reasons he filed Senate Bill 2584 or "An Act Providing for the Safety and Protection of the Unborn Child." SB 2584, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile's SB 2497 and Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla's SB 2635 are among the bills being discussed during the hearing conducted by the Senate committee on youth, women, and family relations hearing. All three bills seek stiffer penalties for abortion and the use of abortifacient contraceptives. But at the hearing, former Sen. Francisco “Kit" Tatad said there is a need to insert a provision mandating the "strict classification" of contraceptives that are non-abortive. Senate Majority Floor Leader Vicente "Sotto," for his part, also asked whether vendors selling herbal medicine which are used for abortion would be covered by the proposed Senate bills. Former Sen. Vicente Paterno, meanwhile, suggested that question of what is abortifacient and what is not should be determined by the "scientific authorities" and not by the legislators. During the same hearing, Dr. Santiago del Rosario of the Philippine Obstetrics and Gynecological Society clarified that injectables and oral contraceptives are not abortifacients. He noted, however, that he would need more time to produce a more comprehensive list of which contraceptives are abortifacient. Tatad had earlier called the Senate's version of the RH bill, which seeks to provide universal access of reproductive health services, unconstitutional. On the other hand, Paterno supports responsible parenthood and family planning as a strategy for poverty reduction. As of posting time, the Senate hearing was ongoing. — Kim Tan/RSJ, GMA News