The Philippines Senate and House of Representatives have passed a Reproductive Health Bill by signficant margins. Bills of this kind have been proposed repeatedly over the past 13 years and have always been highly controversial because of oppostiion from those opposed to contraception and other contentious aspects of the bills. However, it is unclear exactly what the new law will say, as the houses passed it in two different versions, and will have to compile an agreed-upon text before it can be signed into law by the president. [Modern Medicine]
Earlier versions of the bill included provisions adverse to freedom of conscience for health care workers. (See The RH Bill: The Shape of Things to Come?) More recently circulated versions are said to have modified some or all of these provisions. However, it will not be possible to assess the new law’s impact on freedom of conscience for health care workers until the final text is available.