The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 (RH Bill)

by Parokya ng Tatlong Hari on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at 10:56am ·

The Philippines is facing again a very serious issue that affects moral values and its culture. This is really a very serious issue and could really change the life of every Filipino, Issue pertaining to Reproductive Health Bill.

Many Filipinos are very naive about this and most probably has no idea of what possible effects that could destroy our true Filipino morality with the concern of reproduction and sex. Religious groups and organizations opposed this bill, and so with the few concervative Filipinos, but for those whose minds were twisted by only on politics and business, they thought that to reduce poverty is through population control. Believing that the country's resources can now be segregated evenly to the country's population. Later in our discussion we will talk about the future effects of this bill.

Here is a very strong opposing statement to the Bill by one of the top politicians in the country, Francisco S. Tatad -

"THE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH bill in the House of Representatives is being presented as a health bill and an antipoverty bill at the same time. It is neither. It is not what its authors say it is; it is everything they say it is not. It is an ideological attack on human life, the family, and our social and cultural values.

The bill rests on a flawed premise; it is unnecessary, unconstitutional, oppressive of religious belief and destructive of public morals and family values. Its enactment into law will only deepen the already frightening ignorance about the real issues. It should be rejected."

The religious sectors are not only the ones opposing the bill but some intellectuals who viewed the bill as an attack to the Filipino morals. But you may ask what is in the Bill that you may think is immoral?

Well if you are done reading it, now let us talk! If you are a kind person who consider religion and morality as just few "things" that colors the life, then for sure you did not value it much and you may be one of those western type of people that think science and commerce and technology and etc.. as the solutions for poverty. But if you are a person who valued God's given system for life and its proper way to obtain a wonderful life now and in the future, then you may be affected a lot to that reproductive health bill.

The author of the Bill stated the following objectives:

• To uphold and promote respect for life, informed choice, birth spacing and responsible parenthood in conformity with internationally recognized human rights standards.
• To guarantee universal access to medically-safe, legal and quality reproductive health care services and relevant information even as it prioritizes the needs of women and children.

It thus really sound good, The Bill as most intellectuals would say is designed to protect the rights of the women, medical people in the maternity duty, promoting family and educating the youth for safe sex ( starting from Grade 5 - 10 to 11 year old kids) and be responsible in life, with all of these for 3 main goals ---- Anti-poverty, population control, AIDS(HIV) prevention. I may say a great cover up.

Now lets go to the Negative impact of this Bill!

1. If the Bill will be approved then we are permitting the people of the program to tell our young kids about condoms, pills and ways to prevent pregnancy.

2. If the Bill will be approved then we are opening the minds of our children that sex is something to try. Even they are not that ready for it. And because they are thought how to use condoms, then curiousity would force them to sex.

3. Because their minds are now tainted with sex education, the respect of having sex to the right girl or the right guy for the right time would be abolished. Probably raped cases would increase.

4. Sex should be discussed by home by the parents not through government programs, approving this bill affects the right of the parents in teaching their young ones about morality.

5. If the Bill will be approved, HIV cases would increase! There is no such thing in this world as Safe condoms ( they might advertise it as safe, then why they dont have COMMERCIALS of using their condoms with an AIDS VICTIM). In Thailand, when they started to have a bill regarding sex education and birth control, their HIV cases increasing and so with other countries. Why? Sex is Holy and be respected, when you educate people about it and with condoms.....They will try it and want it so badly, believing condoms would protect them.

6. If the Bill will be approved, you cannot expect that your daughter will be still a virgin at the age of 15. The bill sounds good, but they're educated about sex and believing that sex is no holy and be respected anymore, but consider it as a wonderful part of the body.

7. If the Bill will be approved, Prostitution will increase!

8. If the Bill will be approved, it will be rear to find a virgin and concervative girl to become your wife. Like in America and in Europe that there is no such girl who is 18 and still a virgin.

9. Filipinos are concervative in nature, If our country will become less concervative because of the Bill, thus it affects our culture and our way of showing respect to the women.

10. Filipinos by nature is a solid christian and a believer to Gods way of giving new life, we all want the natural way, God's way. But with this bill it probably could change our faith.

Filipinos are born intellectuals and I believed not dumb, Filipinos loves the culture of the Filipinos. We may say that many of the Filipinos wants to go abroad to earn dollars and live in the U.S, but they are not following the culture of the Americans or the Europeans. We love our culture our way of valuing Life, Sex ,Family, Religion, etc. The Bill is like making the Philippines like the western countries a country with liberated people, a country that devorce and abortion is legal. Filipinos never dreamt to have a culture like that, the bill is the stepping stone of bringing a western culture in the Philippines.

The bill seeks to impose a hedonistic sex-oriented lifestyle that aims to reduce the conjugal act to a mere exchange of physical sensations between two individuals and marriage to a purely contraceptive partnership.

Not only is it hedonistic, it is above all eugenicist. It seeks to eliminate the poor and the "socially unfit." While it neither mandates a two-child family nor legalizes abortion, it prepares the ground for both.

That paragraph explains something scary for the future Filipinos. The church people are making ways to stop this Bill, Filipinos should not be naived because this Bill is a serious treat to your culture, family and Faith to God!

The devil used many good programs to weaken the faith of God's loyal servants!

The risk of breast cancer for young women is 200%-480% higher than for non- pill users.

The risk of cervical cancer for women aged less than 20 years is 280% greater; for women aged 20-24 years is 70% greater, and for women aged 25-29 years is 40% greater when compared to non-users.

The risk of DVT (deep venous thrombosis) from third-generation progestagen versions of the pill is 600%-900% higher compared to non-users of the pill

ng women are the most 'at risk' group, notably in the areas of increased susceptibility to breast cancer." Also: "New Research is reaffirming that DMPA causes significant bone demineralization, notably in the lumbar area." And, "Heavy bleeding, weight gain, depression, hair loss and headaches are the most frequent side effects"

Wilks reports on the harmful effects of NORPLANT: ". . . the rods are difficult to remove, weight gain and mood disturbances are significant, and menstrual irregularities are so extensive as to cause unacceptable levels of emotional, physical and marital distress." Other health problems: " visual impairment, severe headaches, ulnar nerve damage, and vomiting. .

There are 6 bills pertaining to reproductive health and/or population management that have been filed for deliberation in both the House of Representatives and the Senate for the 15thCongress.

The most controversial of these bills is House Bill No. 96 authored by Rep. Edcel Lagman. House Bill No. 96, also known as the proposed "Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2010," will cover the following areas:

• midwives of skilled attendance
• emergency obstetric care
• access to family planning
• maternal death review
• family planning supplies as essential medicines
• benefits for serious and life-threatening reproductive health conditions
• mobile health care service
• mandatory age-appropriate reproductive health and sexuality education
• responsibility of local family planning office and certificate of compliance
• capability building of barangay health workers
• ideal family size
• employers' responsibilities
• multi-media campaign
• implementing mechanisms
• reporting requirements
• prohibited acts
• penalties

The bill is controversial, as it is being opposed by concerned citizens, especially the pro-life, pro-family and pro-God groups, regardless of creed or religion. The Roman Catholic Church expresses its opposition against the bill on many counts, most especially the procurement and distribution of family planning supplies for the whole country, when the available evidence from peer reviewed medical journals supports the hypothesis that when ovulation and fertilization occur in women taking oral contraceptives (OCs) or using intrauterine devices (IUD), post-fertilization effects are operative on occasion to prevent clinically recognized pregnancy. Hormonal contraceptives and/or IUDs directly affect the endometrium. These effects have been presumed to render the endometrium relatively inhospitable to implantation or to the maintenance of the preembryo or embryo prior to clinically recognized pregnancy. These make pills and IUDS abortifacient.

Pro-life groups, and many professionals in the medical and nursing fields, believe that physicians and policy makers should understand and respect the beliefs of patients who consider human life to be present and valuable from the moment of fertilization. Patients should be made fully aware of this information so that they can consent to or refuse the use of artificial contraceptives.

However, the position of the Catholic Church and the pro-life groups does not mean that they espouse the attitude of "natalism" at all costs, as if the "number" of children, in itself, were the unmistakable sign of authentic christian matrimonial life.

The sexual act, properly exercised within marriage only, is ordained primarily to the propagation of life. If there are reasonable motives for spacing births, such as serious medical conditions in the mother, or extreme poverty, then the Catholic Church teaches that married couples may take advantage of the natural cycles of the reproductive system and use their marriage precisely those times that are infertile (natural family planning).

Other aspects of the bill being contested by concerned citizens include the classification of family planning supplies as essential medicines when their safety/toxicity profile and legal permissibility are questionable. At the same time, more importance should be given to the prevalent diseases, the top ten leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the Philippines, namely, infections such as pneumonia and tuberculosis. Financial resources allotted by foreign donors to assist the Philippine government programs could actually be better spent towards pursuing health programs targeting communicable diseases than purchasing artificial contraceptives.

Very pertinent to the debate about reproduction rights is the right to life. The Philippine Constitution says that the State "shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception. If artificial contraceptives are medically proven to induce abortion as one of their mechanisms of action, then procurement and distribution of such family planning supplies are unconstitutional and illegal.

Although it can decreases our population because like what as now our economy problem is poverty.

It is because of many parents or people that are unemployed.,

but i really disagree because,

In the first place we're breaking the rules of our father almighty even if God cant be seen we should still obey all of his commands coz he is our creator

then, in terms of controlling.

many contraceptives there we can apply like condoms,withdrawal,bysectomy,ligatetion,pills and etc. that cant kill or waste a life of an innocent one. God loves us, we should love his creations too. thats all i know now. how i wish this simple message can affect the conscience of many. Godbless us all.

I WISH IT WOULD BE HEARD.