The Supreme Court has stopped the implementation of Republic Act 10354, or the Reproductive Health Law, after the filing of at least six petitions against it by pro-life groups.

According to a report on Inquirer.net, the high tribunal voted 10-5 to issue a 120-day status quo ante (SQA) against the controversial law, rendering it as if it has not been implemented yet.

The 10 justices who approved of the SQA are Associate Justices Presibitero Velasco Jr., Teresita Leonardo De Castro, Arturo Brion, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Roberto Abad, Martin Villarama Jr., Jose Perez, Jose Mendoza, and Bienvenido Reyes.

Meanwhile, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, and Associate Justices Estala Perlas-Bernabe, Mariano Del Castillo, and Marvic Leonen voted against the SQA.

The petitioners had argued that the RH Law “mocks the nation’s culture” by doing away with the country’s respect for life and will pave the way for the legalization of abortion, a view which is strongly opposed by the law’s supporters.

The oral arguments to discuss the law's merits will be held on June 18.

(Photo by Mike Gonzalez via Wikimedia Commons)