Mercado, Carlo Robert M.

2014-89467
Legal Bibliography
Prof. Emerson Baez

Petitioners before the Supreme Court invoke Section 12, Article II of the 1987
Constitution to strike down certain provisions of the RH Law. Determine:

1. What is the clearest discernible intent of the framers for Section 12, Article II?

The intent in the aforementioned article of the Constitution is the protection that this
provision gives to the right to life, which in the case of the unborn at the moment of
conception, is protection from abortion.
1
As such, outlawing abortion is the real thrust and
meaning of the aforementioned provision.
2


Likewise it is also seen why such intent of the framers was not explicitly seen in the text
of the Constitution but only in the Records. It is because the considering the legal technicalities
in the Constitutions provisions is already in the realm of legislation.
3


Such laws legalizing abortion will thus be unconstitutional because of this provision.
4

The issue of which contraceptive devices are question of fact and should be decided in
legislation, however the principle that if such devices are found to be purely contraceptive, shall
be permitted and those found out to be abortifacient shall be prohibited is already laid down by
this provision.
5


1
Records, 1986 Constitutional Convention, Volume IV, No. 84, Sept. 16 1986
MR. SUAREZ: Section 9, Madam President, has something to do with family life and, of course, the controversial
provision regarding the right of the unborn from the moment of conception. May I address some legal points
regarding this matter, but I do not think it would be fair to the Honorable Villegas.

MR. VILLEGAS: No, Madam President. Precisely, the question of whether or not that unborn is a legal person who
can acquire property is completely a secondary question. The only right that we want to protect from the moment of
conception is the right to life, which is the beginning of all the other rights.
MR. SUAREZ: So, only the right to life.
MR. VILLEGAS: Yes, it is very clear, only the right to life.
MR. SUAREZ: That is the only right that is constitutionally protected by the State.

XXXX

MR. SUAREZ: So what kind of protection does the Commissioner have in mind in order that we can give life to
this unborn child from the moment of conception?
MR. VILLEGAS:"Protection" means any attempt on the life of the child from the moment of conception can be
considered abortion and can be criminal.
MR. SUAREZ: So, principally and exclusively, if I may say so, what the Commissioner has in mind is only an act
outlawing abortion.
MR. VILLEGAS: Exactly, Madam President.
MR. SUAREZ: So that is the real thrust and meaning of this particular provision.
MR. VILLEGAS: That is right.
(Emphasis supplied)

2 Id.

3
Records, 1986 Constitutional Convention, Volume IV, No. 84, Sept. 16 1986
MR. SUAREZ: Can we not just spell it out in our Constitution that abortion is outlawed, without stating the right to
life of the unborn from the moment of conception, Madam President?
MR. VILLEGAS: No, because that would already be getting into the legal technicalities. That is already legislation.
The moment we have this provision, all laws making abortion possible would be unconstitutional. That is the
purpose of this provision, Madam President.
(Emphasis supplied)

4
Id.

5
Records, 1986 Constitutional Convention, Volume IV, No. 85, Sept. 17 1986
MR. VILLEGAS:I thank Commissioner Regalado very much.
As regards the provisions of the Revised Penal Code, we have already heard, and I completely defer to him, the
opinions rendered by Commissioner Padilla. I think that journalists extrapolated wrongly some of the statements.
Definitely, I did not pretend to be an expert on the legal aspects. That is why we had Commissioner Padilla clarify
what are the actual provisions right now in the Revised Penal Code about abortion.
As regards the issue of what types of contraceptive devices are abortifacient, I think it is a question of fact and this

2. Did the ConCom determine a point where human life begins? (If so, at what point is it
reckoned?) Explain.

Commissioner Villegas states that the fertilized ovum is human; that there is life because
it already exhibits charactersitics such as growth, and that the chromosomes found in the
fertilized ovum (resulting from the combination of the sperms and the ovums chromosomes)
already contains characterstics unique to human beings.
6


He likewise states in a later discussion the answer to the question of the beginning of the
human life, stating the it is when the ovum is fertilized by the sperm that there is human life.
7








can be best left to Congress and the courts to decide on. There have been articles by medical experts which
expressed the opinion that some types of IUDs and hormonal injections are actually abortifacient. But I think this is
a question best left to the law-implementing agencies and the courts actually deciding on the facts presented whether
or not this opinion should be followed.
So I am not, in any way, making a categorical statement that all these contraceptive devices mentioned in that
question-and-answer series are abortifacient. I think it is a matter of fact that has to be established.
MR. REGALADO: So for the record and to allay the fears or apprehensions of these medical practitioners, we agree
that these different types of intrauterine devices will be determined by Congress on a case-to-case basis whether they
are completely contraceptive and, therefore, there is nothing wrong if administered in the womb of the mother or
they are abortifacient and, therefore, will be prohibited.
(Emphasis supplied)


6
Records, 1986 Constitutional Convention, Volume IV, No. 81, Sept. 12 1986
MR. VILLEGAS: Among other things, the question of personality of the unborn child from the moment of
conception was raised.
I propose to review this issue in a logical manner. The first question that needs to be answered is: Is the fertilized
ovum alive? Biology categorically says yes, the fertilized ovum is alive. First of all, like all living organisms, it takes
in nutrients which it processes by itself. It begins doing this upon fertilization. Secondly, as it takes in these
nutrients, it grows from within. Thirdly, it multiplies itself at a geometric rate in the continuous process of cell
division. All these processes are vital signs of life. Therefore, there is no question that biologically the fertilized
ovum has life.
The second question: Is it human? Genetics gives an equally categorical "yes." At the moment of conception, the
nuclei of the ovum and the sperm rupture. As this happens 23 chromosomes from the ovum combine with 23
chromosomes of the sperm to form a total of 46 chromosomes. A chromosome count of 46 is found only and I
repeat, only in human cells. Therefore, the fertilized ovum is human.
(Emphasis supplied)

7
Records, 1986 Constitutional Convention, Volume IV, No. 84, Sept. 16 1986
REV. RIGOS: In Section 9, page 3, there is a sentence which reads:
The State shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from the moment of conception.
When is the moment of conception?
MR. VILLEGAS: Madam President.
MR. TINGSON: The bachelor member of our committee seems to have expertise on this matter.
THE PRESIDENT: Commissioner Villegas is recognized.
MR. VILLEGAS: As I explained in the sponsorship speech, it is when the ovum is fertilized by the sperm that there
is human life. Just to repeat: first, there is obviously life because it starts to nourish itself, it starts to grow as any
living being, and it is human because at the moment of fertilization, the chromosomes that combined in the fertilized
ovum are the chromosomes that are uniquely found in human beings and are not found in any other living being.
(Emphasis supplied)