TEENAGE PREGNANCY | Minority lawmakers express alarm over teenage pregnancy, seek inquiry

February 12, 2021 , 06:46 PM

(February 12, 2021) – Minority congressmen on Thursday expressed deep concern over rising incidence of teenage pregnancy in the country, describing the situation as a “national and social emergency” and seeking a review of the reproductive health law.

Left-wing lawmakers belonging to the Makabayan bloc said pregnancy among young girls is primarily a health issue that the government should actively respond to.

Teenage pregnancy is prevalent among the marginalized sector which has very limited access to reproductive health measures.

“Minors who are pregnant or who are caring for their newborn babies face worse circumstances amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as reproductive health services and basic social services are inaccessible due to pandemic limitations and age-specific restrictions on mobility,” a group of six lawmakers said, filing a resolution to seek a public inquiry.

Based on records of the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM), there were 2,411 young adolescents aged 10 to 14 who gave birth in 2019, revealing a steady increase in cases since 2011.

This forms part of the total 62,510 minors who have given birth in 2019, which is slightly higher than the 62,341 recorded in 2018.

Juan Antonio Perez III, POPCOM executive director, said “the alarming rate” of increase in teenage pregnancy demands cooperation among various sectors in society.

He also emphasized the need to put in place social protections and aid that would help Filipinos gain access to materials related to reproductive health.

“Thus, we are calling on the private sector, LGUs (local government units), development partners, and relevant government agencies to collaborate closely with us in arresting this social menace grappling our youth,” Perez said.

Gabriela Congresswoman Arlene Brosas and her fellow lawmakers in the Makabayan bloc said the House of Representatives should urgently review the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 to know how the government can address the gaps when it comes to teenage pregnancies.

The law, otherwise known as Republic Act No. 10354, “guarantees that every person shall have access to a full range of methods, facilities, services and supplies that contribute to reproductive health and well-being by addressing reproductive health-related problems.”

The lawmakers lamented how the law was unable to deter the rapid increase of unwanted pregnancies among the youth despite being approved for about a decade now.

“A review of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law should be conducted in order to address the difficulties in implementing an age and development-appropriate sexuality education and other important government programs under the said law,” the Makabayan bloc said.

In the upper house, opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros also renewed her push for a measure preventing teenage pregnancy through the passage of Senate Bill No. 161. It provides social protection to young parents and other information they need when it comes to safeguard their reproductive health.

“That the teen pregnancy crisis has continued for a decade and continues to spike today goes to show that the prevention of teen pregnancy cannot take a backseat, even as we battle COVID-19,” Hontiveros said. “It must be in the front row of the policies we need to discuss immediately to recover from the pandemic and to stem the worsening poverty.”

(Beatrice Puente/MM)

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