Members of the House Committee on Youth and Sports Development recently passed seven bills providing youth and adolescents access to contraceptive pills in a bid to curb the growing number of teenage pregnancies.
Representatives Edcel Lagman, Juan Fidel Felipe Nograles, Chariess Anne Hernandez, Stephen James Tan, Patrick Vargas, Francisco Paolo Ortega and Raoul Danniel Manuel have all agreed to pass bills to address the national social emergency of adolescent pregnancies, or among young women ranging from 10-14 years old.
Rep. Lagman, in a statement during the deliberation chaired by Isabela Rep. Faustino Michael Dy III on Friday said that allowing adolescents to access the latest contraceptives is vital to the nation’s benefit.
Lagman said that this is because “adolescent pregnancy, particularly from ages 10-14, has become a national social emergency and adolescent pregnancy and childbirth account for the highest rate of maternal mortality.”
Lagman added that “early childbearing is a leading factor in intergenerational poverty; and it is a speculative and mistaken notion that access to contraceptives will lead to adolescent promiscuity.”
In 2020, the United Nations (UN) Population Fund reported that the Philippines has 47 births annually per 1,000 women aged 15-19, which is higher than the average adolescent birth rate of 44 globally and 33.5 in the ASEAN region.
Under the bill, reproductive health services shall be made available to those aged 15-18 years old evePhoto Credits to House of Representatives n without consent from their parents or guardian.
Lagman stressed that “young persons aged below 15 who have already begun childbearring, or those who have experienced sexual abuse, miscarriage or is sexually active or engaged in high-risk behavior shall have full access to reproductive health services without the need of consent from a parent or legal guardian.”