People don’t always see the importance of a good reproductive health bill until it is the only thing that can save them. There are countries that already exercise fair rights to both men and women. Most of the time, it is the women who can’t access a good reproductive health bill. Just an example to prove the fact is the minimized access to birth control pills while condoms are available practically everywhere.

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Women around the world are petitioning for a fairer access to contraceptives. They continue to rally that reproductive health is a woman’s basic right. Most of the countries with strict to no reproductive health bills are religious countries that see these acts as immoral.

Birth Control Pills

Birth control pills or contraceptive pills are medicines with hormones in it to prevent pregnancy. The hormones in the pill stop ovulation. No ovulation means there’s no egg hanging around for sperm to fertilize, so pregnancy can’t happen. Countries like Philippines, Korea, China, and Brazil let women buy birth control pills without a physician’s prescription. The entire North America subsidizes these pills and they are given to women for free.

Abortion and IUD

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Abortion is a more controversial topic, especially in religious countries. Only a few countries legalize abortion due to said moral implications. Countries like U.S. and Thailand legalize abortion to protect the mother from possible harm brought by pregnancy. Almost 25% of the population lives in countries where abortion is completely illegal. These countries charge mothers with first-degree murder for illegally terminating a pregnancy. IUD or Intrauterine Device is also a type of women contraceptive. It is a small device inserted into a woman’s uterus to prevent pregnancy. Countries like the U.S. (under Trump’s administration) and North Korea are planning to eliminate IUD implantation.  Some countries are considering IUD to be of equal to abortion. While abortion in China is completely legal, and it is also done for free by professionals. This is their way to impose their strict Two-Child Policy.

The United States of America

The United States recognizes that a reproductive health is a woman’s right but it still has overlapping views with women contraception. It is one of the few countries that legalized abortion but it also has a strict code on buying pills. Pills in the U.S. should only be bought by someone with a prescription. Under the administration of President Trump, women are now on the verge of paying more bucks to pills, and in addition, a possible ban on IUD.

El Salvador

El Salvador announced its total opposition and a complete ban on abortion. This means that the woman does not have the right to terminate a pregnancy even if her own life and the babies are both at risk. The country refuses to acknowledge unhealthy pregnancy, indecent assault, incest, and fatal diseases for abortion. Women in El Salvador who get an illegal abortion can serve up to 8-12 years in prison. Between 2000 and 2011, 129 women were prosecuted under the abortion ban. Of those, 26 were charged with homicide.

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Chile

It is one of only six countries in the world to ban abortion without exception. This is despite President Michelle Bachelet’s efforts to loosen up the laws and allow abortion in cases of assault, fatal illness, or risk to the mother’s life. The complete ban on abortion only started in 1989. Before that, women were allowed to terminate the unwanted and unhealthy pregnancy. The ban on abortion does not stop women in the country to get one. In fact, range between 60,000-300,000 abortions is recorded per year. The sentence of abortion in Chile is imprisonment of five years or more.

Philippines

In the Philippines, women can terminate a pregnancy if it is a risk for either mother or the baby. There is no explicit law stating it but it is currently happening in the country. The Philippines is also one of the countries where there is no Reproductive Health Bill- this is despite the country’s poverty and overpopulation. Majority of the Filipinos are devout Catholics and most of them consider it as immoral. The country does not have a proper reproductive and conception subjects in school. That is why men in the Philippines are rallying for a bill to be passed that will protect them from reproductive concerns.