In the first place, Your Honor, I don't believe that the standard is a compelling State interest,
this is an ordinary health legislation involving professionals. This is not a free speech matter
or a pure free exercise matter. This is a regulation by the State of the relationship between
medical doctors and their patients.231
Resultantly, the Court finds no compelling state interest which would limit the free exercise
clause of the conscientious objectors, however few in number. Only the prevention of an
immediate and grave danger to the security and welfare of the community can justify the
infringement of religious freedom. If the government fails to show the seriousness and
immediacy of the threat, State intrusion is constitutionally unacceptable.232
Freedom of religion means more than just the freedom to believe. It also means the freedom
to act or not to act according to what one believes. And this freedom is violated when one is
compelled to act against one's belief or is prevented from acting according to one's belief.233
Apparently, in these cases, there is no immediate danger to the life or health of an individual
in the perceived scenario of the subject provisions. After all, a couple who plans the timing,
number and spacing of the birth of their children refers to a future event that is contingent
on whether or not the mother decides to adopt or use the information, product, method or
supply given to her or whether she even decides to become pregnant at all. On the other
hand, the burden placed upon those who object to contraceptive use is immediate and
occurs the moment a patient seeks consultation on reproductive health matters.
Moreover, granting that a compelling interest exists to justify the infringement of the
conscientious objector's religious freedom, the respondents have failed to demonstrate "the
gravest abuses, endangering paramount interests" which could limit or override a person's
fundamental right to religious freedom. Also, the respondents have not presented any
government effort exerted to show that the means it takes to achieve its legitimate state
objective is the least intrusive means.234 Other than the assertion that the act of referring
would only be momentary, considering that the act of referral by a conscientious objector is
the very action being contested as violative of religious freedom, it behooves the
respondents to demonstrate that no other means can be undertaken by the State to achieve
its objective without violating the rights of the conscientious objector. The health concerns of
women may still be addressed by other practitioners who may perform reproductive healthrelated procedures with open willingness and motivation. Suffice it to say, a person who is
forced to perform an act in utter reluctance deserves the protection of the Court as the last
vanguard of constitutional freedoms.
At any rate, there are other secular steps already taken by the Legislature to ensure that the
right to health is protected. Considering other legislations as they stand now, R.A . No. 4 729
or the Contraceptive Act, R.A. No. 6365 or "The Population Act of the Philippines" and R.A.
No. 9710, otherwise known as "The Magna Carta of Women," amply cater to the needs of
women in relation to health services and programs. The pertinent provision of Magna Carta
on comprehensive health services and programs for women, in fact, reads:
Section 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
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