Breast-Feeding Debate in Philippines

Attorney Grace Veronica Reyes, representing infant formula companies, arranges products inside the Supreme Court in Manila Tuesday, June 19, 2007. The issue that all new moms face on breastfeeding has moved into the courtroom, where Philippine health officials claim aggressive advertising has many women believing that formula is better than their own milk. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) (Aaron Favila - AP)

MANILA, Philippines -- A debate over breast-feeding vs. bottle feeding went to the top Philippine court Tuesday, with health officials arguing that aggressive advertising by U.S. and British companies has some women believing formula is better than their own milk.

With breast-feeding rates declining across Asia, the Philippine Health Department last year proposed regulations to strengthen its national milk code, which already bans formula companies from advertising products made for babies less than a year old.

New rules would extend that ban to cover ads for formula made for children up to 2 years old.

"We have seen a dramatic decrease of our breast-feeding rates. We have seen an increase of the profits and sale of infant formula companies," Health Department Undersecretary Alexander Padilla said. "They say (formula) makes geniuses out of babies, promotes love and affection, promotes family ... everything positive about infant milk formula."

The Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines has sued the Health Department, arguing only Congress has the power to change the regulations. The Supreme Court, on appeal, ordered a temporary halt to the stiffer rules, which also call for labeling that would include warnings that formula can be harmful if contaminated or inappropriately prepared.

Labels already include messages that breast milk is best for babies, but health officials want additional statements saying there is no substitute for breast milk and that formula should only be used under advice from a health worker.

Companies that violate the regulations could face fines or lose their license to operate for repeated violations. Individuals convicted of breaking the rules can be fined or face up to one year in jail.

On Tuesday, both sides presented further arguments. The attorney for the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association, Felicitas Aquino-Arroyo, told the justices the Health Department went beyond its authority.

She said U.S.-based formula makers Wyeth, Mead Johnson Nutritionals and Abbott Laboratories, along with British-based GlaxoSmithKline, stand to lose about $208 million because they will have to change labels, destroy milk products already in circulation and lose sales.

And she argued the advertising ban deprives women of information that would allow them to freely choose whether to use formula.

"The milk companies have been painted to look like corporate ogres, motivated by nothing more than corporate profits," she said after court adjourned. "That is not the issue in this case. We are not battling breast-feeding."

About a dozen mothers lined up outside the court to protest. They bared their chests, which had been spray-painted with slogans like "God's milk is life" and "Greedy milk companies."