Medical

Sciences and Law

A. Birth
• NCC Art. 40:
i. Birth determines personality
ii. Conceived child shall be considered born for all purposes that are favorable to it
iii. Provided, it be born later with the conditions specified in the following article
• NCC Art. 41:
i. Fetus is considered born if:
1. If it is alive at the time it is completely delivered from the mother’s
womb
2. However, if the fetus has an intra-uterine life of less than seven months,
it is not deemed born if it dies within twenty-four hours after its
complete delivery from the maternal womb
• Abortion (RPC, Art. 256-259)

i. Art. 256. Intentional abortion. - Any person who shall intentionally cause an abortion
shall suffer:
1. 1. The penalty of reclusion temporal, if he shall use any violence upon the
person of the pregnant woman.
2. 2. The penalty of prision mayor if, without using violence, he shall act without
the consent of the woman.
3. 3. The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods, if
the woman shall have consented.
ii. Art. 257. Unintentional abortion. - The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum
and medium period shall be imposed upon any person who shall cause an abortion by
violence, but unintentionally.
iii. Art. 258. Abortion practiced by the woman herself of by her parents. - The penalty of
prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods shall be imposed upon a
woman who shall practice abortion upon herself or shall consent that any other person
should do so.
1. Any woman who shall commit this offense to conceal her dishonor, shall suffer
the penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods.
2. If this crime be committed by the parents of the pregnant woman or either of
them, and they act with the consent of said woman for the purpose of
concealing her dishonor, the offenders shall suffer the penalty of prision
correccional in its medium and maximum periods.
iv. Art. 259. Abortion practiced by a physician or midwife and dispensing of abortives.- The
penalties provided in Article 256 shall be imposed in its maximum period, respectively,
upon any physician or midwife who, taking advantage of their scientific knowledge or
skill, shall cause an abortion or assist in causing the same.
v. Any pharmacist who, without the proper prescription from a physician, shall dispense
any abortive shall suffer arresto mayor and a fine not exceeding 1,000 pesos.
• Infanticide
 i. Art. 255. Infanticide.—The penalty provided for parricide in Article 246 and
for murder in Article 248 shall be imposed upon any person who shall kill
any child less than three days of age.
1. If any crime penalized in this article be committed by the mother of
the child for the purpose of concealing her dishonor, she shall
suffer the penalty of prision mayorin its medium and maximum
periods, and if said crime be committed for the same purpose by
the maternal grandparents or either of them, the penalty shall be
reclusion remporal.
B. Capacity to Act/Limitations on Capacity to Act
• NCC Art. 38: Limitations on Capacity to Act; Does not exempt a person frim
obligations
i. Minority
ii. Insanity
iii. Imbecility
iv. State of being deaf-mute
v. Prodigality
vi. Civil Interdiction
• NCC Art. 39: Moedify or Limit Capacity to Act
i. Age
ii. Insanity
iii. Imbecility
iv. State of being a deaf-mute
v. Penalty
vi. Prodigality
vii. Family relations
viii. Alienage
ix. Absence
x. Insolvency
xi. Trusteeship
• Sex (Republic v. Cagandahan)
Facts
On December 11, 2003, respondent Jennifer Cagandahan filed a
petition for Correction of Entries in Birth Certificate before the
Regional Trial Court, Branch 33, of Siniloan, Laguna; such that, her
name be changed to “Jeff” and her gender to “male”.

She was born in January 13, 1981, and was registered as female,
 having the name “Jennifer Cagandahan”. While growing up, she was
diagnosed to have Congenital Adrenal Hyperpplasia (CAH), a
condition where the person thus afflicted possesses both male and
female characteristics. She was also diagnosed to have clitoral
hypertrophy, small ovaries, no breast, and menstrual development.
She alleged that for all interests and appearances as well as in mind
and emotion, she has become a male person

WON the correction of entries in her birth certificate be

Issue/s
granted.

Yes. The court considered the compassionate calls for

Held
recognition of the various degrees of intersex as variations
which should not be subject to outright denial. The Court
views that where a person is biologically or naturally intersex,
the determining factor in his gender classification would be
what the individual, having reached the age of maturity, with
good reason thinks of his/her sex. The respondent here
thinks of himself as a male considering that his body
produces high levels of male hormones. There is
preponderant biological support for considering him as a
male

• Age
o Minority (Republic Act. 6809)
§ Article 234 of Executive Order No. 209, the Family Code of the
Philippines, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Art.
234.Emancipation takes place by the attainment of majority. Unless
otherwise provided, majority commences at the age of eighteen
years.
o Old Age (Art. 13, Sec 2, RPC; Mitigating Circumstances)
§ That the offender is xx over seventy years

• Deaf Mute:
o People v. Parazo
Facts RTC decision: Parazo (28 years old) is guilty of rape (sentenced
to death) and homicide

May 29, 1997-Motion for Reconsideration under consideration,
bringing to the attention of the Court facts and circumstances,
such as the absence of a sign language expert, which if true
would warrant the setting aside of his judgment of conviction.

February 10, 1998- the Court resolved to grant appellant's
Urgent Omnibus Motion: (1) to hold in abeyance consideration
of his motion for reconsideration pending his
medical examination; (2) to allow a supplemental motion for
reconsideration after his medical examination; and (3) to
submit him (appellant) for examination by a physician of the
Supreme Court.

The results of medical examinations conducted
on appellant also indicate that appellant is really a deaf-mute, a
mental retardate, whose mental age is only seven (7) years and
nine (9) months, and with low IQ of 60 only.

Parazo’s mother testified that he was born deaf and mute and
she has no money for medical intervention. Barangay captain
that Parazo was known as pipi since childhood. His school
teacher says he was never active in class and he never finished
grade I. DSWD says that he was a beneficiary of their projects
relative to "Persons with Disability." During his early childhood,
he was an active participant of the project. As he grew older
however, he did not anymore bother to visit their office.
Issue: Whether he deserves a re trial for he was sentenced to
Issues
death without the aid of a language expert although he is deaf
and mentally retarded.
Yes he deserves re trial.
Held

Based on the collateral information's (sic) gathered from
persons who have known the patient since childhood, together
with the results of the diagnostic test at UP-PGH and evidenced
by the psychological report, it is now established that Marlon
Parazo is suffering from (1) Profound Hearing Loss, left ear; (2)
Severe Hearing Loss, right ear; (3) Mental Retardation, Mild.
• Mental State
o Imbecility
§ Same meaning according to Art. 38 of the Civil Code with Insanity
• Any mental disorder severe enough that it prevents a
person from having legal capacity (Galang Notes)’
o Insanity/Unsound Mind
§ Any mental disorder severe enough that it prevents a person from
having legal capacity (Galang Notes)
§ People v. Aquino
Eddie Aquino was accused with Murder for the
killing of Esmerlada Lampera when the former
peeked into the house of the latter looking for the
latter’s husband Valerio

He claims that he cannot be guilty of murder as

one of the requisites of treachery, namely that "the
means of execution was deliberately and
consciously adopted," was absent because the
stabbing spree was made at the spur of the
moment when EDGARDO was enraged with passion
and obfuscation or was under the influence of a
sudden attack of "temporary insanity."

Issues Is Eddie guilty of murder

Held Neither are we persuaded by EDGARDO's plea of

"temporary insanity." As the OSG aptly stated,
"temporary insanity" is not recognized in this
jurisdiction. Insanity, under Article 12 of the
Revised Penal Code, connotes that the accused
must have been deprived completely of reason and
freedom of the will at the time of the commission
of the crime,] or that he must have acted without
the least discernment. Mere abnormality of the
accused' mental faculties does not exclude
imputability. Moreover, EDGARDO was unable to
substantiate his claim. The law presumes every
man to be sane. If the accused interposes the
 defense of mental incapacity, the burden of
establishing such fact rests upon him. Insanity must
be proved by clear and positive evidence. Finally,
EDGARDO did not raise this argument below, but
only now, obviously as a delayed afterthought.

o Psychological Incapacity
§ Anotonio v. Reyes
Facts

Leonilo Antonio, 26 years of age, and

Marie Ivonne Reyes, 36 years of age met
in 1989. Barely a year after their first
meeting, they got married at Manila City
Hall and then a subsequent church
wedding at Pasig in December 1990. A
child was born but died 5 months
later. Reyes persistently lied about
herself, the people around her, her
occupation, income, educational
attainment and other events or
things. She even did not conceal bearing
an illegitimate child, which she
represented to her husband as adopted
child of their family. They were
separated in August 1991 and after
attempt for reconciliation, he finally left
her for good in November
1991. Petitioner then filed in 1993 a
petition to have his marriage with Reyes
declared null and void anchored in Article
36 of the Family Code.

Issue Whether Antonio can impose Article 36

of the Family Code as basis for declaring
their marriage null and void.


Held Psychological incapacity pertains to the

inability to understand the obligations of
marriage as opposed to a mere inability
to comply with them. The petitioner,
aside from his own testimony presented
a psychiatrist and clinical psychologist
who attested that constant lying and
extreme jealousy of Reyes is abnormal
and pathological and corroborated his
allegations on his wife’s behavior, which
amounts to psychological
incapacity. Respondent’s fantastic ability
to invent, fabricate stories and letters of
fictitious characters enabled her to live in
a world of make-believe that made her
psychologically incapacitated as it
rendered her incapable of giving meaning
and significance to her marriage. The
root causes of Reyes’ psychological
incapacity have been medically or
clinically identified that was sufficiently
proven by experts. The gravity of
respondent’s psychological incapacity
was considered so grave that a restrictive
clause was appended to the sentence of
nullity prohibited by the National
Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal from
contracting marriage without their
consent. It would be difficult for an
inveterate pathological liar to commit the
basic tenets of relationship between
spouses based on love, trust and
respect. Furthermore, Reyes’ case is
incurable considering that petitioner
tried to reconcile with her but her
behavior remain unchanged.

 Hence, the court conclude that petitioner
has established his cause of action for
declaration of nullity under Article 36 of
the Family Code.

o Battered Woman Syndrome:

§ People v. Genosa
Facts Case stemmed from the killing of Ben Genosa, by
his wife Marivic Genosa, appellant herein. During
their first year of marriage, Marivic and Ben lived
happily but apparently thereafter, Ben changed
and the couple would always quarrel and
sometimes their quarrels became violent.
Appellant testified that every time her husband
came home drunk, he would provoke her and
sometimes beat her. Whenever beaten by her
husband, she consulted medical doctors who
testified during the trial. On the night of the killing,
appellant and the victim were quarreled and the
victim beat the appellant. However, appellant was
able to run to another room. Appellant admitted
having killed the victim with the use of a gun. The
information for parricide against appellant,
however, alleged that the cause of death of the
victim was by beating through the use of a lead
pipe. Appellant invoked self defense and defense
of her unborn child. After trial, the Regional Trial
Court found appellant guilty beyond reasonable
doubt of the crime of parricide with an aggravating
circumstance of treachery and imposed the
penalty of death.

Issue Whether or not appellant herein can validly invoke

the “battered woman syndrome” as constituting
self defense.

Held The Court ruled in the negative as appellant failed

to prove that she is afflicted with the “battered
woman syndrome”.

A battered woman has been defined as a woman

“who is repeatedly subjected to any forceful
physical or psychological behavior by a man in
order to coerce her to do something he wants her
to do without concern for her rights. Battered
women include wives or women in any form of
intimate relationship with men. Furthermore, in
order to be classified as a battered woman, the
couple must go through the battering cycle at
least twice. Any woman may find herself in an
abusive relationship with a man once. If it occurs
a second time, and she remains in the situation,
she is defined as a battered woman.”

More graphically, the battered woman syndrome

is characterized by the so-called “cycle of
violence,” which has three phases: (1) the
tension-building phase; (2) the acute battering
incident; and (3) the tranquil, loving (or, at least,
nonviolent) phase.

The Court, however, is not discounting the

possibility of self-defense arising from the battered
woman syndrome. First, each of the phases of the
cycle of violence must be proven to have
characterized at least two battering episodes
between the appellant and her intimate partner.
Second, the final acute battering episode
preceding the killing of the batterer must have
produced in the battered person’s mind an actual
fear of an imminent harm from her batterer and an
honest belief that she needed to use force in order
to save her life. Third, at the time of the killing, the
batterer must have posed probable -- not
necessarily immediate and actual -- grave harm to
the accused, based on the history of violence
 perpetrated by the former against the latter. Taken
altogether, these circumstances could satisfy the
requisites of self-defense. Under the existing facts
of the present case, however, not all of these
elements were duly established.

The defense fell short of proving all three phases

of the “cycle of violence” supposedly
characterizing the relationship of Ben and Marivic
Genosa. No doubt there were acute battering
incidents but appellant failed to prove that in at
least another battering episode in the past, she
had gone through a similar pattern. Neither did
appellant proffer sufficient evidence in regard to
the third phase of the cycle.

C. Filiation
• Family Code, Art. 164: Legitimate Children
i. Natural Filiation
1. Children conceived or born during the marriage of the parents
2. Artificial insemination as long as both husband and wife authorized
or ratified such insemination in writing before the birth of the child
• Family Code, Art. 166: Impugning Legitimacy of the Child
i. Physically Impossible for Husband to have Sexual Intercourse with the
wife within the first 120 days of the 300 days which immediately
preceded the birth of the child
1. Physical incapacity
2. Living separately that intercourse was impossible
3. Serious illness
ii. Biological Reasons or Other Scientific Reasons
iii. Written authorization of insemination was obtained through
1. mistake,
2. fraud,
3. violence,
4. intimidation or
5. undue influence
• Physical Causes
 • Serious Illness
• Biological/Scientific Reasons
D. Marriage
• Family Code, Art. 45: Annulment
i. No consent of the parents (18- less than 21)
ii. Unsound mind
iii. Fraud
iv. Consent through
1. Force
2. Intimidation
3. Undue Influence
v. Physically Incapable of Consummating Marriage which is incurable
vi. Serious and incurable STD
• Family Code. Art. 46: Fraud under, Art. 45, Sec. 3
i. Non-disclosure of a previous conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude
ii. Concealment of pregnancy
iii. STD regardless of seriousness
iv. Concealment of drug addiction or habitual alcoholism
• Sexually Transmitted Disease, Curable, Incurable
• Impotency Sterility
i. Impotency: inability to copulate
ii. Sterility: Not an impotency. A sterile person can successfully engage in
sexual coition. Sterility does not imply want of power for copulation.
Sterility is the inability to reproduce
• Pregnancy
• Drug Addiction and Alcoholism
i. Drug Addiction1: The deleterious and evil effects from excessive use of
drugs interfere with the happiness of married life, and produce other
effects upon the marriage relation as deplorable
ii. Alcoholism: Defined as a persistent, fixed, and irresistible habit of
becoming intoxicated; lost the power or will to control his appetite for
intoxicating liquor, in the practice of becoming intoxicated whenever
the temptation or opportunity arises

1 Mah gahd, A heyt drugs