Amnesty Int’l backs RH bill, says it’s pro-life

REPRODUCTIVE Health bill advocates yesterday gained the support of international human rights group, Amnesty International (AI).

Aurora Parong, Philippine Director of Amnesty International, said that the bill is pro-life and does not violate human rights.

AI declared their support for the bill when they launched the global human rights report for 2011 at the University of the Philippines yesterday.

Parong said the bill would help prevent maternal death.

Parong cited the report of the Centre for Reproductive Rights, which states that 560,000 pregnant women secretly resort to abortion and 1,000 of them died because of abortion.

She said that if the bill would be read with reason and logic from a human rights perspective, it would clearly promote a  healthy life for babies and their mothers.

She said that the bill was anchored on safe pregnancy, and if it would be passed, then there would be better services for pregnant women and their babies. /Correspondent Carine M. Asutilla