Noted ob-gyne says contraceptives not abortifacients

MANILA, Philippines – A leading Filipino obstetrician and gynecologist has stressed in an interview that contraceptives, in particular oral contraceptive pills, are not abortifacients because their action is to prevent ovulation and consequently conception, thus no abortion occurs.

Citing the debate over pending legislation that aims for greater availability and access to reproductive health (RH) education and services in the country, Dr. Santiago del Rosario, a former president of the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) and the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society (POGS), says assertions that contraceptives are abortifacients amount to disinformation, and data used to support such claims are speculative at best and contrary to scientific evidence.

“If taken as prescribed, contraceptive pills prevent ovulation or the production of an egg, so that there is nothing for sperm cells to fertilize, hence there is no pregnancy and there will be no abortion,” he explains. “If you analyze the reproductive chain, there is nothing to abort. Before prescribing contraceptive pills, the doctor makes sure that the patient is not pregnant, using reliable diagnostic procedures. There is no pregnancy, much less abortion. If the pills are taken as prescribed during the first five days of menstruation, the possibility of accidental ovulation (not pregnancy) is very small, and this is addressed by advising the patient to add seven days more of abstinence, or to use another contraceptive method during those seven days.”

He adds, “When a particular hormone pill in use is too weak for an individual patient, there is bleeding, signaling that escape ovulation may become a risk in a few days. The patient is advised to abstain or use a second contraceptive method to avoid only even the risk of escape ovulation, and not pregnancy.”

According to the highly respected ob-gyne, the term “contraceptive” is actually a misnomer, since contraceptive pills actually prevent ovulation, not conception. “It would be more accurate to call them anti-ovulation pills or anti-ovulants rather than contraceptives,” Dr. Del Rosario points out. “Those who oppose the reproductive health legislation have often repeated that contraceptive or hormonal pills are abortifacients. This is not correct. It spreads wrong information about contraceptive pills by calling them abortifacients. This disinformation can confuse and mislead lay people.”

Dr. Del Rosario is currently the chair of the PMA Commission on Ethics and Medical Practice. He represents the PMA and the POGS in legislative proceedings on health concerns. Both the PMA and the POGS support the passage of the RH legislation.

“If a comprehensive reproductive health law is passed and implemented based on its objectives, it will dramatically reduce maternal and fetal mortality in the country which are some of the highest, not only among developing countries but in the whole world,” stresses Dr. Del Rosario. “It will also reduce unwanted pregnancies and criminal abortions. At the same time, it will address our population growth rate, which is one of the highest worldwide. If I’m not mistaken, of 141 countries, we have the 14th highest growth rate.”

According to the POGS position paper, out of 10 Filipino women who die during childbirth, six deaths are due to lack of maternity facilities, midwives, and obstetricians in depressed and rural areas. In its stand on the RH legislation, the POGS supports access for all Filipino couples, especially those who are needy, to information and services on safe and legally accepted family planning methods, whether natural or artificial. The POGS also holds that the decision should be left to each Filipino couple to determine how to space and how many children they can support for a decent life and education.