Miriam on RH ruling: Reason defeated superstition

MANILA, Philippines - An elated Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago described the Supreme Court (SC) decision upholding the constitutionality of the Reproductive Health Law as a "triumph of reason over superstition."

In a statement late Tuesday, Santiago expressed her gratitude to the SC for declaring the controversial measure as "not unconstitutional" except for eight provisions.

"Thank you, Supreme Court! I love you, because you have faced the fears of a nation, and swept them away like cobwebs," said Santiago, a co-author and co-sponsor of the RH Law formally known as the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012.

Santiago said the SC ruling is "a decision upon clashing interests resolved exclusively by the force of reason, according to law, without the power of armies, the weight of patronage, or imposing pomp."

"In short, it is a triumph of reason over superstition," she said.

Santiago also said that she would support any move to file motions for reconsideration on the eight RH provisions stuck down by the SC.

"I am fairly confident that a more exhaustive study of the principles of constitutional law will support a reconsideration of all eight provisions," the senator said.

She said the RH Law enjoys a presumption of constitutionality and that the burden of proof lies on the measure's critics who allege unconstitutionality.

The presumption of constitutionality dictates that doubt should be resolved in favor of the law, Santiago said, and that the Supreme Court should reconcile the law with the Constitution.

"I think that in many instances, petitioners failed to show that the eight provisions are unconstitutional; instead, petitioners depended only on the argument that there was reasonable, substantial, or rational doubt," Santiago said.

Among the provisions of the RH law that were struck down by was Section 7, which requires private hospitals owned by religious groups to refer patients to other health facilities and allow minors suffering miscarriage access to modern family planning methods without the consent of their parents.