Stay order on Implanon contraceptive implants deemed lifted

The stay order issued by the Supreme Court (SC) on two contraceptive implants is already deemed lifted after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined the products to be non-abortifacient.

The SC laid down in April the condition for the lifting of the temporary restraining order (TRO) on the registration, procurement and distribution of Implanon and Implanon NXT it issued in 2015 in favor of the petition filed by the Alliance for the Family Foundation Philippines Inc. (ALFI)

In issuing the TRO, the SC said it never meant to enjoin the processing of the entire gamut of family planning supplies “that have been declared as unquestionably non-abortifacient.”

The high court said the injunction was only subject to the condition that the FDA afford the ALFI “a genuine opportunity to their right to due process.”

“After compliance with due process and upon the promulgation of the FDA, the temporary restraining order would be deemed lifted if the questioned drugs and devices are found not abortifacients,” the SC Special Second Division said in a resolution dated April 26.

“After the final resolution by the FDA, any appeal should be [submitted] to the Office of the President pursuant to Section 9 of Executive Order No. 247,” it added.

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno reiterated the Court’s decision in July after President Rodrigo Duterte batted for the full implementation of the Reproductive Health Law and slammed the issuance of TROs on government projects as a "bane to efficiency."

“As soon as the FDA certifies as provided by law that they are not abortifacient, the TRO is lifted. The reason why the TRO has not been lifted yet is not with the Court but with the FDA," Sereno said on July 27.

Seven months after the Court’s pronouncement, the FDA ruled Implanon and Implanon NXT and 49 other contraceptives were not abortifacients, earning praises from pro-RH group Forum for Family Planning and Development (The Forum) which saw the development as a sign that the stay order will soon be lifted.

The ALFI earlier said the implants, which prevent ovulation for three years, have abortifacient features which the FDA allegedly approved without consulting the public. —ALG, GMA News