---

Philippine President Orders National Drive to "Shun Abortion as a Health and Moral Hazard"

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

MANILA, Philippines, January 18, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo today expressed her grief over the discovery of a dead foetus inside a washroom in the Malacañang Palace complex early Thursday morning. She has ordered authorities to intensify a government campaign against abortion.

"The President is extremely sad over the discovery of the foetus in the New Executive Building. As a devout Catholic, a mother and grandmother, she is against abortion and believes strongly in the sanctity of life. We are saddened by this incident. We hold every human life sacred. We pray for the soul of this innocent child and hope that whoever was responsible for this, realises the gravity of this deed and seek atonement," presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in a statement.

Arroyo's chief security officer said local police were trying to find who left the foetus, placed in a blue plastic bag and abandoned in a toilet.

"We still have no idea if it was intentionally aborted or it was an accident," Brigadier-General Romeo Prestoza told reporters, adding they were reviewing tapes from a closed circuit camera to identify a woman who went into the washroom early in the morning.

President Arroyo has directed the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to step up its programs geared towards dissuading people from tolerating abortion, and to intensified counseling efforts for unwed and teenage mothers.

"She has given instructions to the DSWD to expand its community networking and outreach efforts to educate the public on the need to shun abortion as a health and moral hazard," said Bunye.

Abortion is strictly illegal in the Philippines and the government under President Arroyo has been promoting chastity education, natural family planning and the traditional Philippine culture in its protection of life and family. "We will push for responsible parenthood and a population policy that is in keeping with our culture," President Arroyo told foreign reporters shortly after her inauguration.

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

NEW PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT'S PRO-LIFE STAND FRUSTRATES POPULATION CONTROLLERS
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2001/feb/01020203.html

Philippine President Declares March 25 Day of the Unborn
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/mar/04032507.html

Abortion Pill Crackdown in Philippines Has Police Chasing Down U.N. - Supported NGOs
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/may/05052602.html

Philippines Uses UN Population Control Money for Natural Family Planning
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/oct/05101205.html

PHILIPPINE HEALTH WORKERS FIND INTERESTING USES FOR DUMPED CONTRACEPTIVES
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/jan/03011505.html

 Back to Top

---

MORE NEWS: LifeSiteNews.com Home Page  Last 10 Days   Archives   Special Reports

Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.