Demographics:

In 2000, an estimated of over 470,000 induced abortions were

performed in the Philippines. This translates to almost a third of
women aged 15 to 44 choosing to have an abortion after getting
pregnant.
o FOR AD LIB : estimate was based mainly on patient records
indicating post-abortion care from over 1,000 hospitals
nationwide. But because not all women need or successfully
obtain treatment after an abortion, hospitalization numbers
alone do not capture the magnitude of induced abortions in the
country.
In 2008, around 1,000 maternal deaths were attributable to abortion
complications. About half of the 3.4 million pregnancies in 2008 were
unintended. almost half of pregnancies among Filipino women 15-45
years of age are considered unintended and is equal to 1.3 million
unplanned births every year.
In 2010, the number of hospitalizations due to abortion complications
was projected at 90,000. This raised the estimated incidence of
induced abortions to 560,000 in that year alone.
Induced abortions: poor women (68%) > non-poor women (32%).
Researchers have also shown that 90% of the women who have
abortions are Catholic, and that 70% have some high school education.
Regional differences in abortion rates:
o Metro Manila has the highest rate at 52 per 1,000 women.
o Rest of Luzon has a rate of 27 per 1,000 women
o Mindanao and Visayas have a similar rate of 18 and 17 per
1,000 women
At any given year, more than 78,000 women seek post-abortion care in
a medical facility and 800 to 1,000 Filipino women die of abortion
complications. (Based on Guttmacher Institutes estimates)
The high number of abortion-related hospitalizations and deaths is due
largely to the unsafe methods that women resort to.
Methods employed by Filipino women to induce abortion include:
o plant and herbal concoctions (pamparegla) ingested and
inserted into the vagina
o abdominal massage and pressure(hilot)
o insertion of objects (such as catheters, hangers, and brooms) in
the vagina
o Dilatation and Curettage (D&C or raspa) done in hospitals as
completion curettage or in clandestine clinics to induce abortion.
o Menstrual regulation (MR), aka menstrual aspiration or
menstrual extraction
o Ingesting Vino de Quina and other liquors.
 o Drugsboth ingested and inserted into the vagina (ex: Cytotec,
Cotral)
o Physical labor: Others punch their abdomen, exercise
intensively, and jump from high places.
Only a third of Filipino women receive a dilation and evacuation or
vacuum aspiration, which are the medically prescribed procedures for
terminating a pregnancy. And because abortion is illegal in the
Philippines under Section 2 of the Revised Penal Code, clinicians refuse
assisting abortion.
a significant number of abortion seekers are adolescents, with recent
studies estimating that teenage pregnancies account for 17% of unsafe
abortion cases.
Each year, it is estimated that over half a million Filipino women
undergo unsafe abortions, the Guttmacher Institute reported in 2013.
The projections are based on the 2000 national abortion rate, which
indicated that the Philippines may have had more unsafe abortions
than its Southeast Asian neighbors at the time.
abortion-related surgeries (surgical completion of incomplete abortion
and D&C) were among the 15 most common surgical claims submitted
to the national health care system, PhilHealth, in 2011.
the most common complications of unsafe abortion are incomplete
abortion or retained products of conception, excessive blood loss and
infection. Less common but more serious complications include septic
shock, peritonitis, cervical or vaginal lacerations, and intestinal
perforations.

References:

The Incidence of Induced Abortion in the Philippines: Current Level and

Recent Trends, By Fatima Juarez, Josefina Cabigon, Susheela Singh and
Rubina Hussain. International Family Planning Perspectives. Volume 31,
Number 3, September 2005
https://www.guttmacher.org/journals/ipsrh/2005/09/incidence-induced-
abortion-philippines-current-level-and-recent-trends

Hussain R and Finer LB, Unintended pregnancy and unsafe abortion in the
Philippines: context and consequences, In Brief, New York: Guttmacher
Institute, 2013, No. 3. <http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/IB-unintended-
pregnancy-philippines.pdf

Accessed: December 8, 2016

One in ten young filipino women age 15 to 19 is already a Mother or pregnant
with first child.

Initiation of sexual activity before age 18 is more common among young

adult women with less education and those in poorer households. Over 40
percent of young adult women with some elementary education, compared
with only 7 percent of those with college education, reported having their first
intimate sexual act at age 18

Source: 2013 National Demographic and Health Survey, Philippines

Release Date: Thursday, August 28, 2014
https://psa.gov.ph/content/one-ten-young-filipino-women-age-15-19-already-
mother-or-pregnant-first-child-final-results

In 2000, induced abortion among adolescents reached 319,000.

This is due to:

to the inadequate knowledge on preventing unwanted pregnancies.

social stigma of having an unwanted
Although the disapproval rating for abortion remains to be high, the
approval rate has an increasing trend from 4% to 6% in males and
3.5% to 4% in females.

Reference:
DOH, Philippines
http://www.doh.gov.ph/adolescent-and-youth-health-program

Abortion:

Although abortion is illegal in the Philippines, an estimated 400 000 induced

abortions were performed each year and nearly 40% of complications arising
from abortions occur among youth.Very few among youth approve of
abortion, although the approval rate has increased from 3.7% in 1994 to
4.9% in 2002.

Reference: Health of Adolescents in The Philippines

http://www.wpro.who.int/topics/adolescent_health/philippines_fs.pdf