Increased access to birth control, health insurance, and sexual education would make

abortion unnecessary.

Many women in the Philippines are unable to achieve their desired family size, and have more
children than they want. Unintended pregnancy is common, in part because of the high unmet
need for contraception.
The Philippine government has made efforts to improve access to contraceptive services, but
abortion is illegal under all circumstances and is thus highly stigmatized.
In the Philippines in 2015–2019, there were a total of 3,770,000 pregnancies annually. Of these,
1,930,000 pregnancies were unintended and 973,000 ended in abortion. Abortion is prohibited
in the Philippines.
Abortion rates in the United States have fallen at what the CDC called a “slow yet steady pace”
since a peak in 1981. That year there were 29.3 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44. The
rate fell to 11.4 abortions per 1,000 women in 2019.
Experts largely contribute the decline in abortions in the United States and elsewhere to the
improved safety and availability of LARC (long-acting reversible contraception) including IUDs
and contraceptive implants that can last up to 10 years.
Access to health insurance to pay for contraceptives also contributed to a drop in abortions.
With the passage of Obamacare (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), more people
were insured with access to free or low-cost contraceptives and reproductive care.
Linda Rosenstock, Public Health Professor of Health Policy and Management at UCLA,
summarized the simplicity of the connection: “In the United States each year, about half of
pregnancies are unintended and about 40% of those lead to abortion. Access to birth control
leads to fewer abortions.”
Further, teens are having sex later in life than their parents. 38.4% of American high schoolers
reported they have had sex (down from 54% in 1991) and only 27.4% reported they were
currently sexually active (37.5% in 1991).
For adolescents who are sexually active, using effective contraceptives (such as condoms, birth
control pills, the patch, the vaginal ring, the intrauterine device or IUD, and/or injectable birth
control methods) every time they have sexual intercourse will reduce chances of unwanted
pregnancy.
Much of the gap between women’s total and wanted fertility rates in the Philippines can be
attributed to low contraceptive use and high levels of unmet need for contraception: In 2008,
more than 90% of unintended pregnancies occurred among women using traditional, ineffective
methods or no method at all.
Sexual activity among young people is becoming more common in the Philippines. The
proportion of women aged 15–24 who were sexually experienced increased from 25% in 1998
to 32% in 2008. Despite the taboo against premarital sex, many women report such behavior: In
2008, the median age of marriage among young women was nearly a year later than the
median age at first sexual experience (22.1 vs. 21.3 years). Filipino women are also giving birth
earlier: Among first-time mothers, the proportion who were teenagers increased from 20% in
2000 to 27% in 2010. Adolescent females are particularly at risk of unintended pregnancy
because they lack access to comprehensive sex education and contraceptive supplies.
Because teen birth control use has not increased significantly, experts attribute the decline in
part to better sex education. A 2021 study found that students who received comprehensive
sexual education initiated sex later than students who did not participate in sex ed. The later
teens have sex, the less chance there is for them to become pregnant unintentionally, which
leads to fewer abortions.
Historically, abortion was a popular means of birth control and family planning due to a lack of
reliable contraception, education, and other resources, and the fact that childbirth was incredibly
dangerous.
In the Philippines, most unintended pregnancies resulting in abortion are preventable, as is
nearly all abortion-related mortality and morbidity. Better information on sexual and reproductive
health, as well as access to effective contraception, can lower the incidence of unintended
pregnancy, thereby reducing the number of Filipino women who resort to unsafe abortion and
experience the related health consequences. Investing in women’s health yields enormous
benefits not only to women’s status and productivity, but also to their families and society as a
whole.
In 2012, the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act (RPRHA) passed, which
guarantees universal and free access to modern contraceptives, in particular for poor women.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered government agencies to ensure free access
to contraceptives for 6 million women who cannot obtain them. Because the Economic Planning
Secretary Ernesto (Pernia) said the intensified drive to make contraceptives available and
ensure “zero unmet need for family planning” is important to reduce poverty.