Abortion refers to the act of terminating a pregnancy either through removal or expulsion of the fetus. This can happen in two ways: induced, a medical procedure; and spontaneous, a natural and unintended termination without medical intervention. Under the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, it is categorized as crimes against persons. It is thoroughly discussed in Articles 256-259.
Article 257
Article 257 explicitly states that unintentional abortion constitutes a “penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium period shall be imposed upon any person who shall cause an abortion by violence, but unintentionally.” It looks into the unusual circumstance that abortion is committed without the intention to do so.
Elements of the Crime
For the provision of the said article to be applicable, there are specific elements of the crime that should be present for it to be considered unintentional abortion. First, the crime must be committed against a pregnant woman, regardless of what trimester she is in. Second, violence must have been exerted upon the victim. Violence should be intentional and is done through physical force, harm, or aggression. Third, violence inflicted should naturally cause the abortion, the fetus either dies in the womb or is expelled. It is said to be a vital element of imprudence or recklessness, and should be severe enough. Lastly, there is a lack of intent to cause abortion. While the offender has intentions of harming the victim violently, the former does not have the intention of harming the fetus and evidently causing abortion.
Nature of the Crime
Philippine laws also outline the nature of the crime. Abortion must be incidental to the use of violence, it only occurred as a result of the harm done to a pregnant woman. The offender is also held liable despite his or her lack of abortion intent. Overall, the offender intentionally caused harm to the woman, but did not intentionally cause the abortion.
In the case of the People vs Jesus Paycana, Jr., the latter was charged of murdering his pregnant wife after stabbing her 14 times. As a result, both his wife and their child died. He argued that he acted in self-defense, but the court has denied this. The court affirmed that due to his act of intentionally stabbing his wife, as evidenced by the number of stab wounds inflicted, he had the intention to harm his wife which constituted to the death of his unborn child as well1.
Intentional vs Unintentional Abortion
Unintentional abortion is highly different from intentional abortion. The former lacks the intent of abortion to take place, and was an unforeseen result of physical violence. On the other hand, intentional abortion comes in three forms and there is an explicit act to abort the fetus.
Unintentional Abortion vs Infanticide
Unintentional abortion is also inherently different from infanticide. Unintentional abortion happens upon an unborn fetus – either dying in the womb or expelled. Whereas for infanticide, the child must have been born alive and viable – capable of living and existing independently.
- People of the Philippines v. Paycana, Jr., G.R. No. 179035 (Supreme Court of the Philippines, Apr. 16, 2008) ↩︎
