For reproductive health advocates, the American presidential election last week represents a victory for logic and science over dogma and ideology. On these issues, President-elect Obama was clearly the candidate who favored freedom of choice and informed decision making by individuals and families on issues regarding sex, education, and health.

Obama is a known supporter of Roe v. Wade. Thus it is now unlikely that the conservative bloc in the United States Supreme Court will be gaining any ground in the event of vacancies in that body. This means that landmark decision legalizing abortion will remain in force for at least the duration of Obama’s presidency.

A majority in the President-elect’s political party are known to be opposed to parental notification or consent requirements for abortion for minors. This is a heatedly discussed issue throughout the United States. With Democrats in control of the American legislature, it is improbable that any attempt to impose such requirements at the federal level would succeed.

On a notion that is very close to the heart of religious extremists – the concept of the "moment of conception" – the new American leader’s beliefs definitely coincide with rational thinkers. He opposes the expansion of the coverage of child health insurance (SCHIP) benefits to include the period from conception to birth. The proposal is an evident ploy to also expand the definition of abortion in such a way as to interpret many contraceptive methods as termination of an established pregnancy.

Biomedical researchers throughout the United States now anticipate a more reasonable federal policy on funding for stem cell research. Actually, this would have been inevitable because Obama’s opponent, John McCain, also supported federal funding for stem cell research using human embryonic cells for as long as the embryos were those destined for destruction a result of in vitro fertilization failures. However, Obama’s position on the issue is much more liberal, allowing the use of human embryonic cells for legitimate biomedical research without conditions.

Abortion of third trimester fetuses involves procedures that allow partial delivery of a fetus before its viability is interrupted by mechanical or medical methods. These are known as partial birth abortions. There are pending in a number of American state legislature as well as the US Congress proposed bills to ban this procedure. Conservatives generally support the banning of partial-birth abortion. Liberal politicians who are mostly associated with the new ruling party of the United States do not favor these laws. When such a measure was voted upon in the Illinois State Senate, Obama voted ‘present’ as opposed to ‘no’. While this is considered a "safe" position, such a vote placed Obama closer to the liberals on this particular issue.

The National Abortion Rights League (NARL) is a liberal pro-choice group that rates American legislators on the basis of past voting records. The League rated the recently elected Democrat 100 percent for his performance in both state and US legislatures.

On the other hand, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) is a conservative anti-abortion group which do the same rating for their viewpoint. Obama has consistently rated Zero, according to their evaluation.

More relevant to the situation here in the Philippines, Barrack Obama strongly supports unfettered access to family-planning services and comprehensive sex education at home and abroad. On this basis it is more than likely that the United States will resume its financial support for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) which past Republican administrations (Reagan and the two Bushes) had withheld. It is also possible that the Mexico City Policy of Reagan, banning aid to any countries that allow abortion will finally be rescinded.

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Given the decidedly pro-choice leanings of President-elect Obama, it is little wonder that the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) reacted to the news of his victory with shrill insistence on their opposition to any reproductive health legislation in this country. For this reason, it is anticipated by proponents of House Bill 5043 or the Reproductive Health Bill that conservative extremist congressmen may resort to desperate non-rational measures to block its passage.

Nevertheless, advocates hope that the obvious popular support for legislative measures that facilitate access to family planning information and services will encourage politicians to stay the course in support of the R.H. Bill. It is thus important that pro-poor and pro-choice Filipinos constituting this country’s majority continue to express their sentiments to all politicians trying to curry favor with them.

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The national maternal mortality ratio is now estimated at 170 per 100,000 live births. This means that 10 Filipinas die every day, nine of them from preventable causes. Data limitations prevent us from estimating the distribution of these deaths among the various income quintiles. However some process indicators suggest that the burden of maternal deaths is probably much higher among women in the lowest income quintiles. Among poor women giving birth, less than two percent undergo caesarian sections compared to 20 percent among their rich counterparts. Only a quarter of poor women give birth with professional attendance as compared to 92 percent of rich women.