information by the minor referred to under the exception in the second paragraph of Section 7 that would enable her to take proper care of her own body and that of her unborn child. After all, Section 12, Article II of the Constitution mandates the State to protect both the life of the mother as that of the unborn child. Considering that information to enable a person to make informed decisions is essential in the protection and maintenance of ones' health, access to such information with respect to reproductive health must be allowed. In this situation, the fear that parents might be deprived of their parental control is unfounded because they are not prohibited to exercise parental guidance and control over their minor child and assist her in deciding whether to accept or reject the information received. Second Exception: Life Threatening Cases As in the case of the conscientious objector, an exception must be made in life-threatening cases that require the performance of emergency procedures. In such cases, the life of the minor who has already suffered a miscarriage and that of the spouse should not be put at grave risk simply for lack of consent. It should be emphasized that no person should be denied the appropriate medical care urgently needed to preserve the primordial right, that is, the right to life. In this connection, the second sentence of Section 23(a)(2)(ii)249 should be struck down. By effectively limiting the requirement of parental consent to "only in elective surgical procedures," it denies the parents their right of parental authority in cases where what is involved are "non-surgical procedures." Save for the two exceptions discussed above, and in the case of an abused child as provided in the first sentence of Section 23(a)(2)(ii), the parents should not be deprived of their constitutional right of parental authority. To deny them of this right would be an affront to the constitutional mandate to protect and strengthen the family. 5 - Academic Freedom It is asserted that Section 14 of the RH Law, in relation to Section 24 thereof, mandating the teaching of Age-and Development-Appropriate Reproductive Health Education under threat of fine and/or imprisonment violates the principle of academic freedom . According to the petitioners, these provisions effectively force educational institutions to teach reproductive health education even if they believe that the same is not suitable to be taught to their students.250 Citing various studies conducted in the United States and statistical data gathered in the country, the petitioners aver that the prevalence of contraceptives has led to an increase of out-of-wedlock births; divorce and breakdown of families; the acceptance of abortion and euthanasia; the "feminization of poverty"; the aging of society; and promotion of promiscuity among the youth.251 At this point, suffice it to state that any attack on the validity of Section 14 of the RH Law is premature because the Department of Education, Culture and Sports has yet to formulate a curriculum on age-appropriate reproductive health education. One can only speculate on the content, manner and medium of instruction that will be used to educate the adolescents and whether they will contradict the religious beliefs of the petitioners and validate their