National and International Laws Do Not Recognize Rights Prior to Birth A fetus does not have rights under national and international laws and jurisprudence. Philippine civil laws together with past Supreme Court decisions express that legal personality begins at birth and that recognizing life does not confer legal personality or rights to the fetus.60 Under the Philippine Civil Code, birth is necessary for a fetus to acquire rights; without actually being born alive, a fetus cannot exercise any rights, not even through a representative.61 In one case, the Supreme Court declared that a fetus is “not endowed with personality” and is therefore unable to have legal rights if it dies before natural birth.62 In another case, the Supreme Court cited the state policy on the equal protection of a pregnant woman and a fetus, finding that when a death has occurred it does not mean that a legal personality had existed.63 Treaties and international agreements to which the Philippines is a party to have also recognized that human rights are not conferred prenatally. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) emphasized the importance of “birth” in acquiring human rights, declaring that “[a]ll human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” 64 The drafting notes of the UDHR demonstrate that the reference to birth was included specifically to exclude the possibility of extending the right to life to a fetus.65 Furthermore, the drafters of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights specifically considered and rejected a proposal to include a definition of the right to life in Article 6(1)66 which stated that “the right to life is inherent in the human person from the moment of conception, [and] this right shall be protected by law.”67 Furthermore, while the Preamble of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) states that “the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth,”68 the notes of the history of the negotiations of the convention reflect that it “was not [meant] to preclude the possibility of abortion.”69 In interpreting the CRC, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has even called on states to decriminalize abortion and ensure adolescents have safe access to abortion.70 10 REALIZING A HEALTHY, EQUAL, AND THRIVING PHILIPPINES