QuestionsQuestions (Republic Act No. 10354)
RA 10354 recognizes and guarantees human rights of all persons, including the right to equality and non-discrimination, the right to health (including reproductive health), the right to education and information, and the right to choose and make decisions in accordance with religious convictions, ethics, cultural beliefs, and the demands of responsible parenthood. It also affirms the duty of the State to protect and strengthen the family, equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception, and guarantee universal access to medically-safe, non-abortifacient, effective, legal, affordable reproductive health care services and information.
It guarantees universal access to medically-safe, non-abortifacient, effective, legal, affordable reproductive health care services, methods, devices, supplies, and relevant information. The law specifies that these must not prevent the implantation of a fertilized ovum, as determined by the FDA and relevant authorities.
The guiding principle states that the right to make free and informed decisions central to the exercise of any right must be fully guaranteed by the State and must not be subjected to any form of coercion.
It defines abortifacient as any drug or device that induces abortion or the destruction of a fetus inside the mother’s womb, or the prevention of the fertilized ovum from reaching and being implanted in the mother’s womb upon FDA determination. Legally, it is used to determine what reproductive health products and supplies are prohibited from being provided, purchased, or distributed under the Act.
Reproductive health rights include the rights of individuals and couples to decide freely and responsibly whether or not to have children, and decisions on number, spacing, and timing of children; to make other decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion, and violence; to have information and means; and to attain the highest standard of sexual health and reproductive health. The Act explicitly provides that reproductive health rights do not include abortion and access to abortifacients.
‘Family planning’ is a program enabling couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly on number and spacing of children, and to have information and means to do so, with access to a full range of safe, affordable, effective, non-abortifacient modern and natural methods. ‘Modern methods of family planning’ are safe, effective, non-abortifacient and legal methods (natural or artificial) registered with the FDA to plan pregnancy.
LGUs shall endeavor to hire an adequate number of nurses, midwives, and other skilled health professionals to achieve an ideal skilled health professional-to-patient ratio considering DOH targets. Geographically isolated, highly populated, and depressed areas must have the same level of access. National government must provide additional funding and assistance. It also allows midwives and nurses to administer lifesaving drugs (e.g., oxytocin and magnesium sulfate) under DOH guidelines, under emergency conditions when no physicians are available, if properly trained and certified.
Each LGU shall endeavor to establish or upgrade hospitals and facilities based on locally determined need supported by data from the local health office. Facilities must have adequate and qualified personnel, equipment, and supplies to provide emergency obstetric and newborn care. People in isolated/highly populated/depressed areas must not be neglected; alternative access (e.g., home visits or mobile clinics) should be provided as needed, with additional national funding and assistance.
No person shall be denied information and access to family planning services, whether natural or artificial. Minors are not allowed access to modern methods of family planning without written consent from their parents/guardian/s, except when the minor is already a parent or has had a miscarriage.
All LGUs, national and local government hospitals, and other public health units must conduct an annual Maternal Death Review and Fetal and Infant Death Review in accordance with DOH guidelines. The reviews should lead to evidence-based programming and budgeting to develop more responsive reproductive health services promoting women’s health and safe motherhood.
While the National Drug Formulary includes specified family planning products, Section 9 also states that the offices shall not purchase or acquire by any means emergency contraceptive pills, postcoital pills, abortifacients used for such purpose and their other forms or equivalent.
DOH shall procure, distribute to LGUs, and monitor usage nationwide. It coordinates with appropriate local government bodies. Allotments and supply/budget are based on factors such as number of women of reproductive age and couples wanting to space or limit children, contraceptive prevalence rate by method type, and cost of supplies. LGUs may implement their own procurement/distribution/monitoring consistent with DOH guidelines.
Section 21 requires DOH to submit before end of April each year an annual consolidated report to the President and Congress assessing implementation, recommending priorities, and evaluating content, implementation, and impact of policies related to reproductive health and family planning. Section 22 creates a Congressional Oversight Committee (COC) composed of five members each from Senate and House, headed by the chairs of the relevant committees, which monitors implementation, recommends remedial legislation/administrative measures, and reviews the Act every five years.
Prohibited acts include: (1) knowingly withholding information, restricting dissemination, or intentionally providing incorrect information about reproductive health programs/services; (2) refusing to perform legal and medically-safe reproductive health procedures for persons of legal age on grounds of lack of consent (with specific rules on spousal and parental consent), and refusing to extend quality services based on marital status, gender, age, religion, personal circumstances, or nature of work (conscientious objection allowed but requires immediate referral and does not apply in emergency/serious cases); (3) public officers forcing/coercing persons to use services, prohibiting/restricting delivery of legal medically-safe reproductive health services, or refusing to allocate/release budgets or hindering full implementation.
A healthcare provider’s conscientious objection based on ethical or religious beliefs is respected, but the conscientious objector must immediately refer the person seeking care and services to another healthcare provider within the same facility or a conveniently accessible one. It is limited by the emergency/serious-case exception under RA 8344, where appropriate initial medical treatment and support must not be refused.
Violations are penalized by imprisonment from one (1) month to six (6) months and/or a fine of P10,000 to P100,000 at the discretion of the court. If the offender is a public officer, additional penalty includes suspension not exceeding one (1) year or removal and forfeiture of retirement benefits depending on gravity after due notice and hearing. If the offender is a pharmaceutical company, its agent/distributor’s license or permit is perpetually revoked and a fine triple the amount involved is imposed.