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[av_heading heading=’Nothing’s stopping RH Law, Sereno clarifies ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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MANILA – There is no temporary restraining order (TRO) on the Reproductive Health (RH) Law, Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno clarified.
But a high court TRO covers two specific contraceptives regulated under the RH Law: Implanon and Implanon NXT, which await certification from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Sereno said in a statement on Thursday.
The TRO on Implanon and Implanon NXT – thin rods inserted under the skin that release hormones preventing pregnancy for up to three years – was issued in 2015.
“After its decision on the partial constitutionality of the RH Law, the Supreme Court has never issued a temporary restraining order against the RH Law and all contraceptive products,” Sereno said.
“What has been issued was a TRO against two specific implants,” she added. “The TRO has a sunset provision – as soon as the FDA certifies as provided by law that they are not abortifacients, the TRO is lifted.”
President Rodrigo Duterte, in his second State of the Nation Address on Monday, said the Supreme Court should reconsider the TRO, which he claimed prevents the government from fully carrying out the RH Law.
“The TRO has become the bane of government projects,” Duterte said. “Itong Congress passed the Reproductive Health Law. It was already a law na dapat i-implement because we are already going into family planning.”
“It was not really a reckless purchase (contraceptives). It was in preparation for the implementation of the law. Hindi naman akalin na mag-TRO,” he added. “It has been two years. The medicines will expire next month.”
With the TRO, the Health department is prohibited from “procuring, selling, distributing, dispensing or administering, advertising, and promoting the hormonal contraceptive Implanon and Implanon NXT.”
In August 2016, the high court also ordered the FDA to determine whether or not certain contraceptive drugs and devices are abortifacients.
Duterte, in January this year, issued Executive Order No. 12 for the full implementation of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012.
Strengthening the RH Law is part of the Duterte administration’s 10-point socioeconomic agenda to “enable poor couples to make informed choices on financial and family planning.”/PN
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