- Expanding access to contraception is a possibility.
- Education and better health care are also essential.
- A new law seeks to reduce teenage pregnancies
MALAYALA — A new bill that might revolutionize the fight against teen pregnancies in the Philippines is making its way through Congress. Proponents hope it will spark a broader effort to address this “national social emergency.”
The goal of the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Bill, which was passed by the House in September and is currently in the Senate, is to increase access to sexual and reproductive health services, such as contraception, in this predominantly Catholic nation where the age of consent was only raised from 12 to 16 last year and where early pregnancies are common, even among girls as young as 10.
One of the organizations pushing the bill, the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development, claimed that a Senate vote was just two steps away.
The executive director of the organization, Rom Dongeto, released a statement saying, “We are hopeful that the senators will find the time to deliberate on the measure and see not only the merit of the bill… but also its urgency.”
“The unanimity of support will highlight the importance of this crucial issue that Filipinos hold in the highest regard and will encourage prompt action toward its passage,” he stated.
The discrepancy that exists between the legal age of consent for sexual encounters, which is 16, and the requirement for written parental approval for children under the age of 18 to obtain contraceptives would be resolved if the measure is eventually signed into law.
Health experts claim that the high incidence of teenage pregnancies are a result of a combination of social shame, a lack of knowledge about sexual and reproductive health, and this discordance.
Girls who are currently involved in sexual activity need more than just abstinence. Another legal obstacle in the nation is the requirement for them to have access to contraception, according to Leila Joudane, a UNFPA spokeswoman for the Philippines.
She told Thomson Reuters Foundation, “This is why I’m happy to see the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Bill that is now being discussed in the Senate and the House, so that adolescents can have access to contraception, at least when they are 15 and over.”
The bill acknowledges children’s “evolving capacities” to make their own educated decisions about their sexual orientation and health.
It demands that all minors under the age of 15 who are sexually active, pregnant, or who have started a family be granted complete access to reproductive health care without the need for parental permission. It also states that all boys and girls between the ages of 15 and 18 should be granted the same freedoms.
Pregnancies among 10- to 14-year-olds were deemed a national social emergency by the government in 2019. The World Bank figures, used by UNFPA the following year, indicated that the Philippines had 47 births per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 19, or more than 500 teenage females becoming pregnant and giving birth every day.
While the percentage of teenage pregnancies among girls between the ages of 15 and 19 decreased from 8.6% in 2017 to 5.4% in 2018, UNFPA’s Joudane notes that early childbearing is still a “vicious cycle” and that rates among girls between the ages of 10 and 14 remain persistently high.
In a nation where thirty percent of the population is under fifteen and where, according to recent estimates, one in six girls marries before turning eighteen, the expenditures associated with young pregnancies have an impact not just on the individual but also on the community and the economy. Its proponents argue that this is the reason the measure is so crucial.
According to a statement released by Edcel Lagman, one of the bill’s writers, “it will save young girls from the clutches of maternal death, unemployment, poverty, improve their future, and reinforce their self-esteem.” The law was passed by the House.
The ripple impact
Early pregnancy is one of the most accurate indicators of future poverty, according to Lagman’s earlier statements. This is due to the fact that pregnant girls frequently drop out of school, making them economically vulnerable and perpetuating intergenerational poverty.
Following the vote, he declared, “If we are to truly uplift the lives of women, we must start by improving the future of young girls.”
A 2016 study commissioned by UNFPA projected that the net effect of early childbirth, including for missed opportunities and lost wages, is around 33 billion pesos ($579.86 million) yearly.
The Philippines has one of the lowest rates of female labor force participation in Southeast Asia, largely due to adolescent pregnancy.
Only 65% of girls who start having children early are predicted to graduate high school, according to a 2016 UNFPA report. This constitutes a further loss of earnings because girls who finish high school are estimated to earn 300 pesos more per day.
Early pregnancy, according to Joudane, affects girls’ access to education, possibilities for productivity, and future life choices. It also raises the rate of maternal death.
Additionally, there are health hazards, which can be especially crippling for younger females. These might include low mental health outcomes, such as depression, anemia, STDs, and postpartum hemorrhage.
Despite the fact that advocates believe the problem is more serious, the bill may help reverse the trend of teen pregnancies. Increasing access to adolescent-friendly sexual health treatments and altering attitudes will also be crucial.
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Joudane stated, “We must address legal and social barriers that prevent people from accessing sexual and reproductive health services, and family planning programs must be widely available.”
“We need to educate parents of children aged 10 to 14 so they can consent to their daughters using contraceptives.” It is imperative to address both legal and societal norms.
In an effort to support health professionals in their fight against teen pregnancies, UNFPA, the World Health Organization, and the Korea International Cooperation Agency launched a $1 million campaign last year. UNFPA’s goal is to see zero teenage pregnancies by 2030.
In 20 towns spread over Samar and Southern Leyte, two impoverished and typhoon-prone provinces in the Eastern Visayas region—which has one of the worst rates of teenage pregnancy in the nation, with girls as young as 12 and 13 falling pregnant—the project is intended to assist 275,000 teenagers.
In the town of Marabut in Samar, Eva Estonillo, a midwife and planning officer for adolescent health, assisted in transforming her health unit into what the Department of Health refers to as a “adolescent-friendly facility” by providing peer consultations and information on family planning and maternal care.
“Young people would frequently shy away from seeking help, or they would be sent away by rural health staff, before our facility became adolescent-friendly,” Estonillo added.
“I noticed that more teen mothers have become interested in our family planning services because adolescents are now encouraged to seek help from our facility,” the spokeswoman stated.
This is also crucial since many teenagers who have had an early first child go on to become pregnant quickly after. The provision of those services may be advantageous to individuals such as Sandra, a resident of Marabut who gave birth to her first kid in July of last year.
She left school after the high-risk delivery, and she is now 18 years old.
“I wish to return to school to complete my studies for my child’s future, but it’s hard to do right now,” Sandra said, requesting anonymity out of concern for social disapproval.
Joudane says that while the initiatives to address teen pregnancy are encouraging, the emphasis must remain on this issue.
“We all still need to make this a top priority. It will still have an impact on Filipino girls’ lives, the speaker stated. “It will persist in impacting the Philippine economy, and the poverty cycle will persist.”
