IV. THE “EQUAL PROTECTION” OF PREGNANT WOMEN’S LIVES NECESSITATES ALLOWING ABORTION ON LIFE AND HEALTH GROUNDS AT A MINIMUM Clearly establishing the legality of abortion at a minimum in cases when the woman’s or girl’s life or physical or mental health is at risk would allow the Philippine Congress to fulfill its mandate to reform laws that jeopardize women’s health and perpetuate gender discrimination. While the RPC and constitution have been subjected to overly restrictive interpretations, which have created a chilling effect on access to abortion, national, international, and comparative legal norms recognize that women’s and girls’ rights take precedence over any state interest in protecting the life of a fetus. These norms and standards make it clear that there is nothing that bars Congress from ensuring respect for women’s and girls’ rights by clarifying on its own when abortion may be allowed under the constitution and RPC. Clear Intent of the Framers of the Constitution While there is no definitive prohibition against abortion under the Philippine Constitution, its Declaration of Principles and State Policies states that the Philippine government “shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception.”55 During deliberations on this provision, the framers of the constitution recognized that abortion is permitted when the intended effect is to save the life of the pregnant woman and rejected pleas from conservative groups to totally ban abortion.56 The framers also rejected a proposal to include a statement in the Bill of Rights that states, “[t]he right to life extends to the fertilized ovum.”57 It will therefore be in accordance with the intent of the framers to clearly allow abortion at a minimum in cases when the woman’s or girls’ life or physical or mental health is at risk. Favorable Opinion of Legal Experts Constitutional law experts have expressed that the Philippine policy on the equal protection of a pregnant woman and a fetus is “not an assertion that the unborn is a legal person... or an assertion that the life of the [fetus] is placed exactly on the same level of the life of the [woman].”58 For legal experts, the policy recognized that it may be “necessary and legitimate to sacrifice the life of the unborn” to save the life of the woman.59 Although these legal interpretations have not been tested before the courts in an actual case, it is clear that the constitution may be liberally construed in favor of allowing abortion, at the minimum, in cases where a pregnancy poses a risk to the woman’s or girls’ life or health. CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS 9