When does life begin? Senators start debate

When does life begin?

The Senate tackled the lofty question in its opening debate on the reproductive health (RH) bill Monday night. For over two hours the senators pondered: Does life begin at fertilization, when the sperm and egg meet, or when the resulting fertilized cell is implanted in the mother’s womb?

Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III recalled the discussions of members of the 1986 Constitutional Commission that established the state’s cognizance of human life beginning at fertilization.

He said Fr. Joaquin Bernas made the point during the Con-Com debates.

“The majority decision (that approved this provision) was 32-8. There’s a lot of weight in what transpired at the Con-Com,” Sotto said.

But the RH bill’s sponsors—Senators Miriam Santiago and Pia Cayetano—noted that even medical experts could not agree when life actually begins.

“Some say they know but the profession itself has no official position,” said Santiago.

“We are not bound by any specific statement, whether it begins at fertilization or implantation,” Cayetano said.

But Sotto countered: “I beg to disagree that doctors and scientists do not know. The fertilized ovum has life. Is it human? At the moment of conception, the 23 chromosomes carried by the sperm unite with the 23 of the egg. Only humans have 46 chromosomes and therefore it is human life.”

“I am impressed by the amount of (your) research,” Santiago retorted. “We can discuss this till kingdom come but that’s beside the point.”

Sen. Ralph Recto stood up and said it was imperative the chamber agreed on the point of when life began.

This detail, he said, would help the Senate determine which forms of contraception are legal and illegal.

If the senators agree that life begins at fertilization, Recto said this would make condoms legal since they do not destroy the fertilized egg.

Church leaders had aired their opposition to condoms, saying they prevented the sperm and egg from meeting and thus disrupted the natural fertilization process.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile then put in his two cents.

“I remember in our college course on persons and family relations more than 50 years ago—life begins at conception. I don’t know whether this principle has been changed,” he said.

“But the unborn child is already entitled to some rights… and we ought to explore the possibility of when life begins, (whether) at fertilization or implantation,” he added.

Sen. Joker Arroyo said the debate must clearly establish if life begins at fertilization or implantation.

“So far it’s not clear,” he said.

Cayetano, as a cosponsor of the bill, stressed her adherence to the principle of implantation being “the point of viability (because it is) when pregnancy is likely to occur. Proper implantation is necessary because the fertilized cell would be naturally expelled from the womb if it is not.”

“The World Health Organization states that the fertilized egg by itself cannot survive without implantation,” she said.

“If you use the word ‘survive,’ that means the egg is already alive,” Sotto interjected.