Single ladies: Knocked up then knocked down: Removing barriers to the education and employment of unwed pregnant women

• Main Authors: Manahan, Megan Therese Y., Trinidad, Mikaela Paulina G.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2014
• Subjects: Unmarried mothers > Legal status, laws, etc > Philippines
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/8581
• Institution: De La Salle University

This research focuses on the Section 13 (c) of Magna Carta of Women of 2009 or RA 9710. It states that [t]he school may not bar women from their job or studies if they had contracted pregnancy outside of marriage. This study explores on different topics such as the separation of church and state, religious freedom, and academic freedom. Unwed pregnant women are looked down upon society, especially in Catholic Institution. In these institutions, they are given academic freedom by the state, and with this, the institution can choose the standards they want the school to uphold. Catholic institutions make use of God's teachings as one of their basis, and it forms part of their school's standards and policies. This would include prohibiting moral acts, and the pregnancy of a woman out of wedlock is considered to be immoral and these women's actions would have serious consequences. When the state sees that a person's rights are being violated, they step in to interfere and solve the issue. This is wherein a conflict arises-- if women's rights, provided by the Magna Carta of Women 2009, are far than the academic freedom of the university that was granted by the state. The researchers used the 1987 Philippine Constitution, international treaties and covenants, domestic and international jurisprudence, and legal literature. Overall, this study questions whether Section 13 (c) of the Magna Carta of Women complies with the 1987 Philippine Constitution.