Reproductive Health : When Does Life Begin?

During the grand debate on Reproductive Health Bill at GMA News TVs Grand Debate aired last Sunday, one of the themes that came out was the issue of “When Life Begins.” Because the question is very philosophical, many of us used the reductio ad absurdum argumentation and said that
“ Life begins at 40!” Seriously, the discussions on the Reproductive Health bill is getting to be very emotional and some of the main players are men and celibate priests who have no embodied sexual experiences, much less who have never been pregnant.

We love Fr Joaquin G. Bernas, a Jesuit and brilliant constitutionalist when he said & I quote “ I am happy that the CBCP has disowned the self destructive views of some clerics…. I am dismayed by preachers telling parishioners that support for the RH Bill ipso facto is a serious sin or merits excommunication ! I find this to be irresponsible.” Still, the official stand of Fr Bernas is that “ sacred life begins at fertilization and not at implantation.” This remark is associated with our faith and religion. And clearly, our constitution is secular and not a theocracy.

We have encountered this debate very early on when we were promoting emergency contraception as one of our programs. So, we are kind of settled on our view to the question “ When Does Life Begin?” For this, I wish to quote Emelina Quintillan, an international development lawyer and Coordinator of the Asia Pacific Network on Emergency Contraception (APNEC). Emel, as we fondly call her said,

“ What's this thinking of some lawmakers about finding an answer to "when life begins" in connection with the reproductive health bill? Don’t they know that a single cell has life, a sperm has life, an egg has life, a strand of hair has life? A sperm and an egg don't have to meet for life to begin. There is already life even before there is a fertilized egg! The question on "when life begins" can only be answered philosophically. It is a question that will only spark debates and arguments from different perspectives. Not even the different religions can agree on when life begins. The question of when human life begins has been pondered, discussed, and debated in a multitude of cultural contexts. The "answer" has been changing throughout history. Any answer about when human life begins is deeply integrated with the beliefs, values and social constructs of the community or individual that draws the conclusion. The anti-choice or anti-contraceptive group will always say that human life begins when the egg and the sperm meet and consider the taking of contraceptives as killing a human being. However, the fertilized egg or zygote is not yet a human being and there is no guarantee that it will become a human being. Scientific studies have shown that around half of the fertilized eggs naturally don't implant in the uterine lining, never develop into fetuses, and will never become human. Thus, it seems as if the anti-choice group are simply conveniently using the "life begins upon the meeting of the egg and sperm" contention to support their anti-contraceptive argument. The question on "when life begins" is irrelevant to the RH bill. If concern of some lawmakers is about abortion and abortifacients, maybe the more relevant question to ask is "when does pregnancy begin." There can be no abortion without pregnancy. Contraceptives prevent pregnancy.”

Finally, I found this provision ( Article 40-41) in our Civil Code : “ Birth determines personality; but the conceived child shall be considered born for all purposes that are favorable to it, provided it be born later with the condition ….(that) the foetus is considered born if it is alive at the time it is completely delivered from the mother’s womb. …if the foetus had an intra-uterine life of less than seven months, it is NOT deemed born if it dies within twenty- four hours after its complete delivery from the maternal womb.”