IT was a hard-fought battle, but on April 8 success gleamed when the Philippine Supreme Court (SC) deemed the basic principles of the controversial Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RH) law as constitutional.
Parts of Section 7 (Access to Family Planning) and Section 23 (prohibited acts) of the law were struck down by the High Court, but core provisions were upheld. This is just a minor hiccup considering that RH law has been relegated to the back burner for the past year, when SC issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to stop its implementation.
Despite having 15 days to ask the high court to reconsider its ruling, the Catholic Bishops of the Philippines (CBCP), a known adversary of the RH law already caved in.
“Although the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the RH law, it has truly watered down the RH law and consequently upheld the importance of adhering to an informed religious conscience even among government workers. It has also stood on the side of the rights of parents to teach their children,” said CBCP President Socrates Villegas on the decision of the Supreme Court.
Villegas said that the Church will still continue to teach what is right and moral by promoting the beauty and holiness of every human person.
“Through two thousand years, the Church has lived in eras of persecution, authoritarian regimes, wars and revolutions. The Church can continue its mission even with such unjust laws. Let us move on from being an RH-law-reactionary-group to a truly Spirit empowered disciples of the Gospel of life and love. We have a positive message to proclaim,” Villegas further said.
Differences aside, Villegas said that the Church can work hand-in-hand with its pro-RH brethren for the good of the country. He encouraged the Church’s followers to follow suit.
When the world welcomed its seven-billionth occupant in 2011, overpopulation was subjected to more controversy. Most of the world’s population growth occurs in poor, developing nations such as the Philippines, which are least able to support rapid population growth and whose economic development is most likely hampered by high fertility.
In the UN World Population Fund’s (UNFPA) list of the world’s most populous countries, the Philippines ranks 12th. The nation’s population has grown over two percent each year since 2000. A mere 50 years ago, the country’s population stood at 27.1 million. Today, Filipinos are at 96 million—a 250 percent jump over the past five decades.
Like a broken record, overpopulation has been a daunting challenge for the country. It has been continuously linked to poverty, environmental destruction, unemployment, misuse of natural resources, malnutrition, illiteracy, and civil and political conflict.
Such a broad challenge needs a law to standardize its implementation. Advocates of RH law had this in mind. At its fundamental level, RH law closely addresses these issues and promotes human life. That’s because it was designed to protect basic human rights, not diminish them.
RH law is a product of a democratic and transparent process. This is why 13 years and 4 months of untiring efforts from concerned sectors of the government have finally come to fruition.
Achieving the goals of RH law will be a cakewalk, as long as there is strong political support, well-designed and implemented programs and adequate funding sources. Not only will it improve the welfare of women and children, it will also yield economic and environmental benefits.
To reach further success, the government should fully engage the civil society to contribute, including the private sectors, non-government organizations (NGOs), and faith-based organizations.
Now, on to the next step—implementation.
(AJPress)
