Abortion on the rise in Philippines

The Philippines has one of the highest regional birth rates

One in four women in the Philippines have abortions secretly, according to statistics published by a government agency.

One of the causes of unwanted pregnancies is the strong desire of men to have children

Population Commission chief Tomas Osias

Abortions are illegal in the mainly Roman Catholic country, and women with unwanted pregnancies have to go to unlicensed abortion clinics.

The study by the Population Commission estimates that more than 80,000 women have ended up in hospital with medical problems as a result.

"Due to lack of options, women risk legal and religious condemnation and even permanent disabilities and the possibility of death to commit or seek out abortions," the commission said.

Men want more kids

The head of the commission, Tomas Osias, said economic factors and the fact that men want more children than their wives do, were among the chief reasons for the high number of abortions.

The Catholic Church [has] influenced the government so that the government policies and programmes are held hostage

Researcher Karina de Witt

"One of the causes of unwanted pregnancies is the strong desire of men to have children," he told the BBC's East Asia Report.

"Women who have no education and control over their minds and bodies often submit to their male partners' decisions and sexual needs, even if it runs against their wishes," the commission said.

The survey also found that use of contraception, which is banned by the Catholic Church, fell to 47% in Filipino women last year, compared to 49% in 1999.

The Philippines has one of the region's highest birth rate, at 2.3%.

Church's role

Karina de Witt, a researcher at the University of the Philippines, said that the Catholic Church had contributed "in a major way" to the exploitation of women, especially in regard to family planning.

"The Catholic Church [has] influenced the government so that the government policies and programmes are held hostage because of the belief that votes will not come in if you go against the church."

She says this is despite the fact that 90% of couples say they do not consider the opinion of the church when it comes to child bearing.

Mr Osias said that regardless of potential disagreement between the government and state over methods of contraception - the church only accepts natural methods - it was important to increase the flow of information to Filipino families.

"[We need to] implement more vibrant family planning programmes and make available and accessible information and services to couples and parents to make informed choices and decisions as to how many children they want to have," he said.