The Harmful Impact of the Philippine Criminal Abortion Ban

Glossary and List of Common AcronymsTERMAbortifacientDEFINITION/EXPLANATION/ACRONYMA substance that induces abortion.TERMConcluding ObservationsDEFINITION/EXPLANATION/ACRONYMComments and recommendations issued to the reporting StateParty by the respective treaty monitoring body.Association of SoutheastAsian NationsASEANCortalA pain killer locally available in Philippines calledCortal, containing caffeine and acetylsalicylic acid.BarangayBeijing Platform for ActionBlotteringBureau of Food and Drugs, now called theFood and Drug AdministrationThe smallest administrative division in the Philippines; it isthe native Filipino term for a village, district, neighborhood, orward.Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, United NationsFourth World Conference on Women: Consensus documentadopted by nations participating in the Beijing Conference.A practice followed in certain Philippine hospitals of officiallyrecording personal and/or medical information related to analleged illegal abortion in the hospital medico-legal logbook;this book is referred to as a blotter.BFADCytotec or misoprostolDepartment of HealthDilation and curettage (D&C)Cytotec is a brand version of misoprostol, a drug used toprevent gastric ulcers, for early abortion, to treat missedmiscarriages and to induce labor. It is a small pill that canbe taken orally or broken in pieces and inserted vaginally.In hospitals it is used to ripen a woman’s cervix and inducelabor. When administered to pregnant women unmonitored, itcan cause abortion, premature birth, or birth defects. Uterinerupture has also been reported when Cytotec was administeredto women beyond the eighth week of pregnancy.DOHThe “dilation” (widening/opening) of the cervix and surgicalremoval of part of the lining of the uterus, or its contents,by scraping, “curettage.” It is a therapeutic gynecologicalprocedure.Catholic Bishops’ Conferenceof the PhilippinesCatholic Church hierarchyIn the Roman Catholic Church, an Episcopal Conference,Conference of Bishops, or National Conference of Bishops isan official assembly of all the bishops of a given territory.In the Catholic Church, hierarchy has a variety of usages, butit is literally defined as “holy government.” The hierarchicalnature of the church is considered to be of divine institutionand essential to the Church itself.Emergency contraceptionEncyclicalDrugs that act to prevent ovulation and/or fertilization.In the Roman Catholic Church, an encyclical is a papal letteraddressed to the bishops of the Church, or to the hierarchy of aparticular country.CatechismCEDAW CommitteeCommittee on Economic,Social and Cultural RightsConvention on the Elimination of All Forms ofDiscrimination against WomenA manual describing the essentials of Catholic faith anddoctrine in the form of questions followed by answers thatare to be memorized; also, an elementary book containing asummary of the principles of the Christian religion, especiallyas maintained by a particular church, in the form of questionsand answers.UN treaty monitoring body charged with monitoring States’implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of AllForms of Discrimination Against Women.CESCR: UN treaty monitoring body charged with monitoringStates Parties’ implementation of the International Covenanton Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.CEDAW: International treaty codifying States’ duties to eliminatediscrimination against women.Executive Order 003 (EO)Exempt from criminal liabilityFood and Drug AdministrationIn 2000, former Mayor of Manila City, Jose “Lito” Atienza,introduced Executive Order 003, which restricts access tocontraceptives in public health facilities, making contraceptivesprohibitively difficult to access, leading to unplannedpregnancies.Article 12 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines outlinesthe circumstances which are exempt from criminal liability.Article 12(4) states that there is exemption from criminalliability where “any person who, while performing a lawful actwith due care, causes an injury by mere accident without faultor intention of causing it.”FDA: Formerly known as the Bureau of Food and Drugs4 FORSAKEN LIVES: The Harmful Impact of the Philippine Criminal Abortion Ban FORSAKEN LIVES: The Harmful Impact of the Philippine Criminal Abortion Ban 5