AT HIS third State of the Nation Address, President Benigno Aquino III mentioned four priority measures, one of which is the controversial Reproductive Health Bill (which he referred to indirectly as “the need for responsible parenthood.”)
This brought the controversial bill back to the forefront — re-igniting heated debates and opinions in social media, from both pro and anti-RH Bill advocates.
RH Bill staunch supporter Carlos Celdran posted two different perspectives on his Facebook: one from a college freshman from the University of the Philippines (posted by his mother, Sara Evangelista Reysio-Cruz), the other from Kenneth R. Weiss of the Los Angeles Times.
In his letter to “The Government and The Filipino People,” Reysio-Cruz’s son Matthew wrote:
“Supporters of the RH Bill, including myself, have a tendency to think that the bill is moving so slowly in Congress due to issues of morality, due to religious bodies that people are afraid of opposing. But concentrating on this takes focus away from a much more silent but perhaps even more damaging culprit: an overall lack of urgency, from both the government and the people. The RH Bill is not just suffering because of those who are against it, but even more so because of those who are indifferent to it. Something the RH Bill has taught me about humans in general is that we can be so apathetic and so unconcerned about the situations of others – Because anyone reading this right now has obviously been blessed with access to the internet, access to information, access to knowledge about their basic human rights. You’re probably not too far from a good health clinic, or a good hospital. If you’re pregnant right now, you probably aren’t too worried about dying when you give birth because you have an obstetrician, or a midwife. The thing is, you probably won’t die.”
“But not everyone is so lucky. In fact, a majority of our country is not so lucky. The sad thing about this is that you, the people in power, and the people who can influence those in power, are part of the very few who are privileged with access to the information and health care that the RH Bill seeks to provide. And because of this, if the RH Bill is to be passed, this privileged few will remain unaffected, simply because you’re already getting what the RH Bill is going to give. This is dangerous as it allows you to feel like the bill can be delayed. It’s easy for you to oppose the bill, and just as dangerous, be passive about the bill, because it doesn’t affect you whether or not it’s passed. The reason that we should care about it anyway is because you, we, are a minority. All I’m asking for you to realize is that necessities such as access to information, to education, and to health care have become luxuries in our country, and these are luxuries that we sadly tend to take for granted.”
“But today, twelve more women in our country are going to die because of maternal health issues. Today, the Philippines is the country with the highest number of teenage pregnancies in Southeast Asia. Today, pregnant women all over the country are not getting the care they need, and today at least one woman has probably given birth without anyone to help her. She, or her baby, may have even died. How can you look at this horrible but incredibly real problem and then look me straight in the eye and tell me that the RH Bill isn’t urgent? I’ve heard all kinds of excuses – ‘There are more important things right now,’ ‘The RH Bill needs to be improved first,’ ‘We should try and find other ways to address these issues.’ But to me, absolutely no excuse and absolutely no amount of delay is justifiable when the lives of real people are on the line. The RH Bill is a solution. It may not be the only solution, but at the moment it is the only one being offered. And I don’t know about you, but to me there comes a point where no excuse is good enough anymore if lives can be saved.”
“So to the people who think they’re excluded from this, to the people who feel like this bill doesn’t concern them, to the people who just don’t really care – You should. Think about how you have been blessed with the luxury of information, of health, of access, of choice,and think about what a huge, huge blessing this is, then think about all the people who are suffering because they don’t have the same things we take for granted. Then think about how this bill can extend those same rights and that same care and that same access to the rest of the country, to the majority of the country. Empathy and a burden for the issues of others is not something that should even be asked, but it’s come to that point where I am down on my knees begging you to realize the urgency of this bill. Because while you sit up there, perfectly happy in your comfortable positions of power, people are going to die. And as for me, I would never rest well knowing that I had the power to prevent it.”
Meanwhile, Kenneth R. Weiss (from LA Times) has combed the streets of Manila to draw insights from impoverished Filipino women, who have gone through unwanted pregnancies, and would have to deal with the hunger and suffering of their children on a day-to-day. From an outsider’s perspective, Weiss’ five-part story, “Philippines birth control: Filipinos want it, priests don’t” elaborates:
– “In the Philippines, a country of 96 million people, access to birth control is mostly limited to those with the means to buy it. A ‘reproductive health bill’ in the national legislature seeks to change that: It calls for public education about contraceptives and government subsidies to make them available to everyone.”
– “The church and like-minded opponents have stalled the legislation for 14 years. Following Vatican dictates, Philippine bishops oppose any ‘artificial’ measures to prevent pregnancy, sanctioning only natural means such as periodic abstention from sex. It’s one example of how religious and political forces affect women’s control over childbearing and, as a result, the trajectory of population growth in the developing world.”
– “The church’s stance puts it at odds with many of its followers in the Philippines. Eight out of 10 Filipinos are Catholic… Polls show, however, that 70% of the population supports the reproductive health bill, which also calls for sex education in schools.”
– “According to a 2008 government survey, 39% of married Philippine women in their childbearing years said they wanted to avoid or postpone pregnancy but were not using modern contraceptives. By far, the most commonly cited reason was fear of side effects. Other reasons included a husband’s opposition, cost and lack of availability.”
– “Half of all pregnancies in the Philippines are unintended, the survey found.”
– “The Philippines has one of the fastest-growing populations in Asia. It is on track to increase by more than half, to 155 million, by 2050.”
Two different perspectives from two very different individuals — one from a Filipino youth, who has hardly began his journey through life but already has a deep understanding of what ails our society; the other from an American journalist, who bases his views from his own experience of the ugly realities that face women with unplanned pregnancies in the Philippines.
The issue of overpopulation in the country can no longer be ignored. It is a glaring, urgent problem that affects our development as a nation and it needs to be addressed — whether through the implementation of the RH Bill or a compromise solution which would pacify both parties, is yet to be seen.
House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II (with Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.’s approval) has scheduled the RH Bill for an August 7 critical vote in Congress, adding that a second vote will no longer be an option. Will this finally put an end to the RH bill’s 14-year hiatus?
(AJPress)
