RH BILL – still a HOT ISSUE!
RH bill or the Reproductive Health
Bill is a very long-timed bill proposed by the Congress. The bill aims to give
Filipinos an access to methods and information about birth control and maternal
care.
House Bill 4244 is an act establishing a comprehensive policy on Responsible Parenthood. Reproductive Health, and Population and Development. Section 1 states that the Act shall be known as the "The Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011." Moreover, Section 2 of the bill states that the State recognizes and guarantees the exercise of the universal basic human right to reproductive health by all persons, particularly of parents, couples and women, consistent with their religious convictions, cultural beliefs and the demands of responsible parenthood. Toward this end, there shall be no discrimination against any person on grounds of sex, age, religion, sexual orientation, disabilities, political affiliation and ethnicity. (view here the complete copy of RH Bill)
House Bill 4244 is an act establishing a comprehensive policy on Responsible Parenthood. Reproductive Health, and Population and Development. Section 1 states that the Act shall be known as the "The Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011." Moreover, Section 2 of the bill states that the State recognizes and guarantees the exercise of the universal basic human right to reproductive health by all persons, particularly of parents, couples and women, consistent with their religious convictions, cultural beliefs and the demands of responsible parenthood. Toward this end, there shall be no discrimination against any person on grounds of sex, age, religion, sexual orientation, disabilities, political affiliation and ethnicity. (view here the complete copy of RH Bill)
Apparently, the bill has not yet
passed because of the abreast debate about it. Different groups, individuals,
including the government and the Catholic Church are still fighting for their
stand on this bill.
Here
are the positions of each member of this team about the RH Bill:
·
I am for RH Bill since it protects child and maternal health care and
echoes the voice of the minority group who don’t belong to the Christian
community but still are restricted to use all kinds of birth control methods
because of that invisible hand grabbing the rights of everyone in the country.
Rh Bill just provides us with an option of birth control and does not clearly
state that it should be patronized by everyone. So for me no harm would be done
if we would just broaden our perspectives and think what would be good for
everyone not just to the majority.
Marc
Louis Cancio,
BA Psychology,
UPDEPP
·
This undying topic has caused a lot of criticism from the Church and
from other people who are called “pro-life people”. We think that those people
who are against it do not see the full picture of the issue. Why? Because they
concentrate more on the issue of “sex”, “abortion” and “contraceptives” but the
coverage of RH bill is more than that.
“The Reproductive Health (RH) bill mandates health and local
agencies to inform Filipino couples about birth control methods, maternal
health care and other reproductive health concerns. Sex education will be introduced in schools as
well.”
It would be well understood if people
would take in a more logical manner focusing on the benefits that this country
could derived from it. This bill would be a huge
contributing factor to alleviating poverty in this country, taken collectively
with other programs and actions against poverty-related issues.
Nowadays, there are mounting cases of teenage
pregnancy mainly because most of these teens are not aware of the risk
associated with engaging in premarital sex. Sex education could be essential in
addressing this issue because knowledge is always the best antidote to
curiosity. Through RH bill, this people will be educated further about this
matter.
Next, let us take into account married
couples; they have the freedom to choose what birth control or family planning
methods they are going to use as long as it is safe and legal. Sex is part of
marriage without sex how could they make a happy family without children. These
people are responsible in taking care of their children providing them with
their basic needs and giving them the quality life they deserve. But that is
not the case nowadays, how many of us have encountered street children begging
for some coins or food you are eating while passing by? For those who are a bit
concern would ask them “Nasaan ba ang Nanay mo?” or “Nasaan ba ang mga magulang
mo?” and for those who do not care at all would just ignore them and ask them
to go away. This is the worst case scenario that might happen if all the
couples would irresponsibly engage in sex without using any birth control methods.
Again, through RH bill these cases could be lessened.
Aurea Marie Santos & Nerissa
Benedictos,
BS Business
Management, UPDEPP
·
I
AM PRO LIFE: Maturity not Hypocrisy
Poor families tend to
be bigger than families who are above the poverty line. Bigger families with
very small gaps between siblings tend to have fewer budgets for each child’s
needs. Malnutrition tends to be more observable in bigger families than small families.
What is the root on all of this? I say overpopulation.
We cannot deny that overpopulation is a big problem in
our country, I can say not only today but also yesterday. But are we going to
let it be a problem tomorrow? The
RH is now being a way to stop this but as the population increases we also keep
on hearing the loud voice of debate. I would like to give my opinion regarding
the Reproductive Health Bill, am I pro or against it?
I do not want to mention million trivial statistics and
quote a lot of sayings in giving my opinion. Including millions of unnecessary
quotation marks does not make me more intelligent. I would like to give my
opinion straight to the point and based on what I know, not on what the church
or politicians say. In my opinion it is better to legalize the RH bill because
of the following reasons.
First of all, education is needed. Many teenagers engage
in premarital sex and many women have unwanted pregnancy. Someone may say I am
pro-abortion since I am mentioning this. I am telling you I am not. Excuse me
for all the religious readers; I do not want to say something bad about the
church or our religion because I, myself, am a Christian.
I would just like to mention that we must stop being hypocrites and pretending
that natural is all we need. Sometimes, natural way of contraception through
abstinence may not be successful. I have read a forum before where in almost
all of those who responded are against the RH bill.
Why are they against the RH bill? They mentioned a lot of
reasons which I admit are really true. I remembered someone who said, what we
need is to know what the importance of life on earth is so that people will not
be reckless on having sex ending up into unwanted pregnancy. He has a point on
saying this but I think that barely knowing this may not be enough. Most of the
times, people knows the danger of what they are doing, they know the
consequences, they do not want to do it but sometimes they cannot help it. May
be lack of discipline but it can also be because of the lack of knowledge and
access to the things that they can use. In a country, where population is not
only the problem but also discipline, we need something to help us not to be in
greater danger.
Agreeing in the RH Bill does not mean that I will already
use contraceptives, engage in premarital sex and promote abortion. A blind man
cannot lead a blind man on his right path, so those who know better than
others, let us help others to manage they lives well. I AM PRO LIFE AND I AM
PRO RH BILL. The ultimate reason why I want Filipinos to gain access from the
RH bill is because I want them to gain access to modern birth control methods.
I believe that every child is a parent’s responsibility and viewed as a gift
from God. But if the pregnancy is unwanted a parent might not look at it that
way given the pressure that one can receive from the judge mental society. In
gaining access to modern methods of family planning, children can have their
right of a better future being in a well planned family who can support their
needs financially and emotionally. Using contraceptives is like saying you
cannot rear a child – that is what I call maturity not immorality.
I also want to have the bill passed
because through this, people can get what they need. Others are saying that
corruption is the problem why we are poor, not overpopulation. If that is the
case, the corrupt officials will then be obligated on providing what is for the
Filipinos. On section 3n of RH bill it is mentioned that “Development is a multi-faceted process that
calls for the coordination and integration of policies, plans, programs and
projects that seek to uplift the quality of life of the people, more
particularly the poor, the needy and the marginalized.” Through this bill
leaders will be FORCED to give what is for the people.
To end my stand on RH bill, I would like to mention about
the biggest issue about this law. Many people also have the misconception on
the law of abortion. It is vague today because there is no law, the RH bill is not
really pro –abortion, it is just to protect woman from something that is out of
their control. Specifically, abortion is illegal and punishable by law. This is
applicable except on two cases: first is if the pregnancy can be a cause of a
woman’s death and lastly is when a patient is minor and has been raped by his
father. There are thousands
of young women today who are dying because they lack access to medical
professionals who are open- minded to help them. Many of them cannot afford the
service of private professionals and most are being passed on one doctor to
another because they are afraid to perform the procedure because someone might
file a case against them. And parental rape, I cannot imagine how hard this
might be for someone seeing her child and at the same time her sibling.
As my friend said “A country that struggles and lacking
discipline as we are... we need some restraints on all directions (many
directions actually) in order to make it (survive)!” (David, 2012). Stand up
and be open minded. Stop being a hypocrite, stop pretending that everything is
fine and unruffled. Anti- RH Bill? You might only be primed by norms about the
bill. Take a closer look and think twice!
Let us stop “Hypocrisy” and start “Maturity”!
Anna
Mae PareƱo,
BA
Psychology, UPDEPP
·
I support RH bill
because of very practical reasons. I firmly believe that the country is
experiencing too much poverty because it is over populated. With rh bill, it is
sure that the population growth will be controlled. The main argument here is
it is anti-life, and it is anti-God. But what is more important, follow the
teachings of the Bible from word to word and expect our country to remain in
poverty for the next five years, or be practical and see our country improved
little by little? RH bill will not make God mad at you. He could be even happy
with your decision and tell you in your dreams, “son, you did well for your
countrymen, I’m proud of you.” Do I need
to say more?
Glenn Martin Cruz,
BS Business Management, UPDEPP
·
RH BILL is an unending battle, a battle for what each Filipino believes.
Different reactions, stands, positions have arisen. Different views and
opinions have observed.
I, coming from a middle class family, have
seen the challenge of life. Being a member of a small family and being
surrounded by large-numbered families, I recognized the importance of every centavo
the provider in a family is earning. Whenever I see a large-numbered family in
a lower level class, I always thought of the way they live their life.
Different questions come up to my mind, “Are they all eating 3 times a day? Are
the children studying? , Are the earnings enough to cover all their needs?
,etc.”
I must say, poverty is not solely caused by overpopulation, but it
becomes one of the roots of such problem. Thus, let us admit that the lack of
information and resources regarding birth control is one of the reasons why these
things happen.
I believe that favoring RH Bill will not make Filipinos engage in
pre-marital and extra-marital sex. It will also not make parents fool from
teaching their children information about sex. I believe, it is very wrong to
say that RH Bill will put Filipinos at risk of extinction. Besides, I think
that RH Bill would never mean or promote abortion, for it will be the guide for
every couple in birth control. It will also be the guide for every family to a
more stable living. In addition, It will protect and educate women with the
basics of family planning.
For me, RH Bill will not kill life. Instead, RH Bill will be a promotion
for a more stable and successful living for every individual in this cruel
society. Lastly, RH Bill will be one of the best weapon to end the battle with
poverty.
Bryan
Paul Lopez
BS Business Management, UPDEPP
Clearly,
our team show support in the passing of RH BILL, for we believe that this bill
will be a be a great help for the Filipinos to be more advance, to be well
equipped, and to widen up every Filipinos’ mind set about the present state of
our society.