Kitchen Knife Caesarean, Health Personnel Exodus, Maternal Deaths: A Collage Depicting Grotesque Picture of Women’s Unhealth

“A health care system that truly responds to the needs of women and their children, especially from marginalized families, should show a picture of women in the pink of health. Yet we bear witness to the story of ‘Jane” who performed caesarean on herself using a kitchen knife, personifying a dying health ‘non-care’ in the country,” said GWP. Rep. Emmi De Jesus.

“Such is the grotesque picture of a health care system that is left in the hands and at the mercy of privatization where profit is the priority. Corporatization of public hospitals, budget cuts in health services, and the exodus of health care professionals in a system that is already too skewed in the lack of health personnel attending to our women patients – there are sure ways to kill women and children especially those from the marginalized sectors,” Rep. Emmi added.

Maternal deaths in the Philippines have reportedly almost doubled in the recent year. A report published by the DOST Science Education Institute in 2011 also highlighted that nurses and midwives represented the biggest group of professionals leaving the country for better opportunities abroad.

The Gabriela solon further stated that if the government is going to press charges against ‘Jane’ for abortion, it should also look into the accountability of government agencies that are mandated to take care of women’s health and who have opted instead to abandon government responsibility and duty where public health care is concerned. “

"Sa halip na kaso ng abortion, mas kailangan ng babaeng ito ang tulong ng gubyerno. Tingnan natin siya bilang biktima ng kawalan ng suporta sa maraming aspeto. Unawain natin siya bilang mukha ng kalunos-lunos na kalagayan ng sistemang pangkalusugan na patuloy na nambibiktima sa sanlaksang kababaihan, laluna mula sa hanay ng anakpawis,” ended De Jesus.###