House OKs bill giving pregnant adolescents full access to healthcare services

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives on Tuesday unanimously approved a measure removing barriers for pregnant adolescents to avail of reproductive health services and increasing the number of “adolescent-friendly” healthcare centers in the country.

All 232 lawmakers present approved House Bill 8910 on third and final reading.

The measure specifically gives adolescents below 15 years old who have "begun childbearing, who are pregnant, or who have experienced sexual abuse, miscarriage, sexually active or engaged in high-risk behavior" full access to reproductive health services without parental consent. 

All adolescents aged 15 to 18 years old, meanwhile, may avail of reproductive health services without permission from their parent or legal guardian under certain conditions.

Authors of the law cited the principle of the "evolving capacities of the child” as one of the concepts enshrined in the proposed law. UNICEF has described this as “a new principle of interpretation in international law recognizing that as children acquire enhanced competencies, there is a diminishing need for protection and a greater capacity to take responsibility for decisions affecting their lives.”

Additionally, the measure mandates all municipalities and cities in the country to establish functional local centers for adolescent health and development either in schools or within the community.

It also makes the adoption of Department of Health-approved standards for adolescent-friendly health facilities and hospitals a mandatory requirement for licensing and relevant accreditation of both public and private health facilities.

One of the authors of the measure is Rep. Edcel Lagman (Albay, 1st District), who was the first to introduce the measure at the lower chamber in the 19th Congress.

In a statement, Lagman lauded the passage of the measure and underscored its necessity in solving the high teenage pregnancy rate in the Philippines.

Although pregnancy rates among those aged 15-19 years old have gone down to 7.2% in 2021 from 14.4% in 2013, the Philippines still has one of the highest adolescent birth rates among ASEAN countries, according to the United Nations Population Fund.

Lagman said that due to early pregnancy, many young girls fail to finish basic education, lack adequate skills for remunerative work, and are economically vulnerable, thus perpetuating intergenerational poverty. 

One of the most reliable predictors of future poverty is early childbearing, Lagman added.

A similar measure filed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros at the upper chamber — Senate Bill No. (SBN) 1979 — is pending second reading.