Human rights has been a passionate cause of many. But when we speak of human rights we generally refer to tortures, abuses of people in detention, deaths imposed by capital punishment or termination of life of the unborn. Very few are aware that human rights are also violated when women die because of too frequent or too many pregnancies, or when they live tortured by the fear of another pregnancy, by an unwanted pregnancy, by a rape, by the absence of health care and information when they are pregnant or when they give birth. The Philippine Constitution mandates that the State shall defend the right of spouses to found a family (Art. XV. Sec. 3 (1 )), and that the State shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women and men (Art. II. Sec. 14). So men and women have the equal protection of the law-and therefore the State-to be able to enjoy the right to life, liberty, and human dignity.
This paper discusses women's reproductive rights in the Philippines.