associated with maternal physical morbidity, including persistent unhealed abdominal or perineal  48 wounds and incontinence.      Reproductive Health in National Policies     There are several Philippine laws directly addressing gender-related issues including those against  forms of violence against women, promoting gender equality in employment and development  opportunities, and ensuring the welfare of women. These are all assumed to contribute to the  49 wellbeing of women in the various stages of her life. This is in addition to, and reinforcing the  provisions of the international conventions and commitments of the Philippine State on the same,  specifically the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women  (CEDAW) and the Program of Action from the International Conference on Population and  Development (ICPD).     Strengthening these laws, and providing a direction for the respect, protection and fulfillment of  women’s human rights in the country is the Magna Carta of Women (2009). The Magna Carta of  Women follows the spirit of the CEDAW. It outlines the guiding principles and measures that the  State should take such as gender quotas and affirmative action to ensure gender equality is achieved  in the soonest possible time. Its provisions cover women’s concerns in the context of disasters,  public service, the legal justice system, education, military service, media and film, health and  marriage and family relations. Furthermore, it highlights the empowerment of marginalized women  in food production, resource ownership, cultural identity, and peace and development among others.     The Magna Carta of Women pre-dates the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law  (RH Law) by three years. While the Magna Carta of Women does not specify a definition of  reproductive health and rights, the perspective of the two laws on the matter are essentially the  same. To wit:     SEC. 17. ​Women’s Right to Health​. – (a) Comprehensive Health Services. – The State shall, at all times,  provide for a comprehensive, culture-sensitive, and gender-responsive health services and programs  covering all stages of a woman’s life cycle and which addresses the major causes of women’s mortality  and morbidity: Provided, That in the provision for comprehensive health services, due respect shall be  accorded to women’s religious convictions, the rights of the spouses to found a family in accordance  with their religious convictions, and the demands of responsible parenthood, and the right of women to  protection from hazardous drugs, devices, interventions, and substances.     Access to the following services shall be ensured:     (1) Maternal care to include pre-and post-natal services to address pregnancy and infant health and  nutrition;   48 Ibid.  The Philippine Commission of Women (then known as the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women)  publication, ​Laws on Women​ (2000) lists more than 40 national laws that directly reference Filipino women. From 2001 to  the 2015, important gender equality-related laws enacted included RA 9208 (Anti-Human Trafficking), RA 9262  (Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children), RA 9710 (Magna Carta of Women), RA 9995 (Anti-Photo and  Video Voyeurism Act) and RA 10354 (Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law). Other laws such as the  expanded Senior Citizens Law (RA 9994) and the amendment of the law prohibiting nightwork for women (Republic  Act 10151) and the law on the welfare of ​kasambahays​ (RA 10361) also benefit women.   49 15 RH Situationer: Phlippines (November 2017)