Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday decried the mandatory pregnancy test imposed at the Pines City College in Baguio, saying it should be scrapped because it violates students’ “right to privacy.”
“The mandatory pregnancy test policy of Pines City College is a discriminatory policy that must be immediately scrapped. Enforcing a mandatory pregnancy test on women who wish to enroll in certain classes violates their right to privacy and puts female students in an uncomfortable and potentially humiliating situation,” he said.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Pines City College said its policy on mandatory pregnancy tests are meant to protect students deployed to “internship programs in hospitals and clinical practice.”
READ: Baguio school sticks by its mandatory pregnancy test policy
With this, the senator advised the Pines City College to conduct orientations for female students about the health hazards, instead of imposing mandatory pregnancy tests.
“If the aim of the school is to protect the health of expecting mothers and their unborn children, it would be more reasonable for them to simply orient women on the health hazards they would face should they enroll in classes which expose them to pregnancy risks,” Gatchalian said.
The senator added that pregnant women also have the right to education, according to the constitution, noting that schools must not implement discriminatory policies.
“The constitutional right to education covers all Filipinos, including pregnant women. We must ensure that institutions of learning will be prevented from enforcing discriminatory policies that impair the Filipino woman’s right to education,” he said. /ee