Part I: What is the topic? What is the significance of the issue?
My topic is on cultural beliefs, myths, and stigmas regarding abortion among Catholic, heterosexual, native Filipina women, 48-55 years old, middle-class, non-disabled, postmenopausal, in San Francisco County. This is an important and sensitive topic that I want to research more about. Being a Filipina American woman, I see the strong cultural beliefs native women of the Philippines have and their views of abortion. According to Reproductive Health Matters:
“What sets the Philippines apart from many of its predominantly non-Christian neighbors in Southeast Asia is Roman Catholicism. Despite the diversity of indigenous and ethnic groups and the presence of a sizeable Muslim population in the South, more than 80% of the population are Roman Catholic” (Austria, 2009).
Throughout the years, I witnessed many native Filipina women in my extended family that have an urge to voice their beliefs and judgement on the topic of abortion and their rallying against it.
The person I will be interviewing is a native Filipina woman who is a part of my extended family on my mother’s side. She grew up in the Philippines and was taught the cultural beliefs and myths that she still uses today. She immigrated to the U.S. almost a decade ago and has familiarized herself that there are in fact many individuals with different cultural beliefs. My informant is against abortion due to her cultural beliefs and the influence on passed down myths and humiliation. A family member of my informant recently proceeded with an abortion and is now being harassed by her family members for her choice. Abortion is a delicate topic that I would like to dive into as it is especially an ongoing issue in the U.S. The goal of my interview and the outcomes that come with it is to continue to be unbiased and understand another individual’s cultural beliefs, myths, and judgement regarding abortion.
Part II: Beliefs, Values, and Attitudes
My aunt, Julianna, is a 50-year-old native Filipina whom has strong religious and cultural beliefs. She was born and raised in the Philippines and has lived there most of her life. Ten years ago, she immigrated to the U.S. to be with my extended family members. She is the fourth oldest sibling out of eleven. She currently lives in San Francisco, California with her older sister and the sister’s family. When I met my aunt ten years ago, I was thirteen years old. She seemed stern and cold, but I realized that it was because of the language barrier. She worked as a store clerk in the Philippines and participated in activities ran by the Catholic church. She does not have any children and is single. The religious and cultural values she believes in are influenced by her family in the Philippines and the church. My aunt was raised in a conservative family that used religion as their faith, guidance, and overall their way of life. She remembered growing up that she would get into a lot of trouble if she did not go to mass every Sunday. School was also taught within the church. She did not go to college in the Philippines as it was too expensive and could not rely on her parents to support her. So, she worked customer service jobs while helping the church with events.
After asking my aunt about her early life, I went into depth on her views of abortion. She told me a story involving an old friend she had in the Philippines, who, unfortunately passed away. She stated to me that her friend in the Philippines was sexually assaulted and was raped. The friend had no one to go to in regard to this tragic event. Eventually the friend was pregnant and was not aware. Her friend ultimately proceeded with unsafe self-inducing abortion methods by using unsterile sharp objects and dispensing drugs without proper dosage and supervision. This led to suffering complications, in which her friend passed away. My aunt stated that during that time, she, her family, and the community shunned her friend for inducing abortion. She stated that the Catholic church opposes abortion because it believes that life is sacred and righteous. Although it has become difficult in the U.S. to framework and explore common ground in the abortion discussion, countries like the Philippines, even gathering a public discussion about sexual health has become increasingly difficult in recent years.
Part III: Religion and Ethics
The Philippines is one of the six countries around the world where abortion remains illegal under all circumstances. This includes cases of rape, fetal impairment, and where pregnancy poses a threat to a woman’s life. My aunt, Julianna, realized the difference of cultures between the Philippines and the U.S. When I spoke to her about her personal cultural beliefs, it was very enlightening. In the Philippines, respect, religion, and faith are the most top priorities. In regard to abortion, it always leads back to religion. My aunt stated:
“You know, the church does not accept the act of abortion. You are killing a living thing. It is because of my faith that shaped my culture, values, beliefs, and my attitude towards all things. Catholicism is entrenched into the fabric of Filipina society. Every home you see in the Philippines has symbols of faith presented. From the rosary, images of the Pope and Christ. Catholicism is always impacting Filipinos’ attitudes towards abortion.”
This really resonated with me because my Filipino-American culture is so different in comparison with my aunt, who is a native of the Philippines. Even though I also consider myself a Catholic, I do believe that women have every right to choosing what they do and do not want. Being in this outspoken country, I see that women and men are not treated fairly. However, we have the ability to retaliate against the inequalities. In the Philippines, this is not the case. The simple abilities we have in the U.S. can be strictly illegal in other countries like the Philippines. I can closely relate this issue in the film, Ma Vie en Rose, directed and written by Berliner. The character, Ludovic, believes he is a female rather than a male. The family, based on their cultural beliefs, faith, values, and attitude to gender, show no empathy for Ludovic and reject him throughout the film. The family could not seem to accept him due to their cultural beliefs and felt uncomfortable or out of place when given notice that Ludovic established that he was a girl.
Part IV: Myths and Stigmas
As I proceeded to talk to my aunt about more views between pro-choice and pro-life, she went on to discuss the myths and stigmas of abortion. Researching more into the views of abortion in the Philippines, I found that this Roman Catholic country established abortion as illegal and strictly forbidden, however, I found that about half a million women end their pregnancies there every year. This was interesting to learn about and to hear my aunt relate back to it. She stated that she was pro-life because of her up-bringing. She specified passionately:
“I believe that women who have abortions are selfish, self-centered, and do not think about the life they are about to kill. I feel that if a woman does not want to have a child, she should abstain. A woman I knew from church in the Philippines also went through aborting her child without telling anyone. She met with an underground ‘hilot’ or traditional midwife to get this procedure done. This woman bled for a week and passed out because of the pain at church. She refused to let her husband know and was not willing to go to the hospital because of the shame of what she had done.
Interviewing my aunt on this topic was very noteworthy and it led me to see a different view regarding abortion. There is always going to be a battle between what is right and wrong. The myth and stigmas my aunt stated about abortion are relatively the same in what I researched. Although abortion is rarely discussed publicly in the Philippines, “nearly 80,000 women are treated in hospitals every year for complications from induced abortion, according to health reports. Many are treated roughly by nurses and doctors who detest what they have done. Painkillers are sometimes withheld and at least 800 women are estimated to die every year from unsafe abortion complications” (Hunt, 2012). It is shown that 68% of the women who undergo unsafe abortions are considered at the poverty level. Based on the research, 90% of the women are Catholic. It is the reality that the predominantly Catholic country where faith and religion play a central role in these women’s daily lives choose to go against the church to make their own life decisions. Eventually, the outcomes of their decision escalate a lot of social pressure for these women long-term.