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Thursday, May 19, 2011

An important legal resource: the 1986 Constitutional Commission declares that life begins at fertilization

See this as well: Behind the scenes on the 1986 Constitutional Commission's declaration that conception -- and therefore life -- begins at fertilization.)  

From the blog of Mr. Raul Nidoy:

Constitutional Commission: Conception = Fertilization


Records of the Constitutional Commission


R.C.C. No. 85

09-17-1986



...MR. AZCUNA: Commissioner Villegas is not in the hall at the moment, but the committee will be willing to answer.


MR. GASCON: Thank you, Mr. Presiding Officer.


As I mentioned in my speech on the U.S. bases, I am definitely pro-life, to the point that I would like not only to protect the life of the unborn, but also the lives of the millions of people in the world by fighting for a nuclear-free world. I would just like to be assured of the legal and pragmatic implications of the term "protection of the life of the unborn from the moment of conception." I raised some of these implications this afternoon when I interjected in the interpellation of Commissioner Regalado. I would like to ask that question again for a categorical answer.

I mentioned that if we institutionalize the term "the life of the unborn from the moment of conception," we are also actually saying "no," not "maybe," to certain contraceptives which are already being encouraged at this point in time. Is that the sense of the committee or does it disagree with me?

MR. AZCUNA: No, Mr. Presiding Officer, because contraceptives would be preventive. There is no unborn yet. That is yet unshaped.

MR. GASCON: Yes, Mr. Presiding Officer, but I was speaking more about some contraceptives, such as the intra-uterine device which actually stops the egg which has already been fertilized from taking route to the uterus. So, if we say "from the moment of conception," what really occurs is that some of these contraceptives will have to be unconstitutionalized.

MR. AZCUNA: Yes, to the extent that it is after the fertilization, Mr. Presiding Officer.

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