Teenagers are going in for early marriage these days.

They prefer to settle down in life and have a home of their own. It sounds very exciting and no doubt very romantic. Most of these youngsters feel that they are old enough to handle lifes problems on their own and not with the help of their parents. They also feel they are made for each other and need to strengthen the ties further by entering into marriage. Teenage pregnancy is also a major problems society is facing. Many do not prefer getting aborted and would like to have a family of their own. In some less developed societies, the practice of child marriage is in vogue still. Many children are forced to settle down in marriage due to social and economic compulsions. Early marriage has its own set of problems. Teenagers may prefer to tie the knot despite perhaps parental objections, but they need to know what is in store for them before taking such a decision.

There are numerous problems a couple can face when marriage happens at an early age for them. Early marriage which is also referred to as child marriage is common all over the globe and has inflicted dangerous and devastating effects on young children who are compelled to tie the knot in most cases. Child marriage is also indicative of the levels of development of a region or country and is generally conducted between very young girls and older men. In many parts of the world child marriage is a gratification for overcoming the familys financial and social needs.

amily Planning Issues

Access to family planning information

A study conducted in 2006 by Josefina Cabigon of the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI) and five other experts at the Alan Guttmacher Institute, an international NGO that focuses on sexual and reproductive rights worldwide, says that six in 10 Filipino women had an unintended pregnancy at some point in their lives because of lack of access to and knowledge of modern family planning methods. This translated to about 1.43 million unintended pregnancies each year, a third of which end in abortion. The study also said that women who had abortion came from all classes, with majority being unmarried, poor, and Catholic. It added that poor women tend to use unsafe methods because they cannot afford safe procedures by trained health providers. These unsafe methods include massage, insertion of a catheter, and the use of Misoprostol, which is prescribed by doctors to treat gastric ulcers. Eight of 10 of the women who use such methods suffer complications, says the study. This was further attested by another study by the World Bank in July 2007 that also found that one main reason women in developing countries like the Philippines seek abortion is "often due to difficulties in obtaining access to an appropriate method of contraception, incorrect or inconsistent use of contraceptive methods, and contraceptive method failure."

Access to contraceptive materials and products.

The Philippines faces an immediate problem when it lost 80% of the countrys subsidized contraceptive supply due to two factors: first, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) decided to stop contraceptive donations; and second, the Arroyo administration continues to refuse to provide funding resources to offset the loss. Since 1970, the USAID has extended an average of US$17 milion a year in assistance to the Philippine family planning program, of which about US$3 million a year had been for contraceptives. The pills, IUDs, injectibles and condoms were made available the Filipino people for free through the rural health units (RHUs). In 1999, the Philippine government initiated the Contraceptive Interdependence Initiative (CII) to promote the partnership between the government, private business sector, and NGOs in the sustainable provision of family planning services and contraceptive supplies. In 2000, the DOH, NEDA and USAID adopted the CII framework, a major component of which is now known as Contraceptive Self-Reliance (CSR), which states that any self-respecting nation should be as self-reliant as possible, especially in areas as fundamental as family planning services for its own people. In September 2001, the DOH issued the Philippine National Family Planning Policy, which categorically states that the Philippine Government seeks "to encourage self-sufficiency and eliminate dependence on foreign donors for family planning services and commodities." The contraceptive support from the USAID had a phase-out period of 2002 to 2007 with the last shipment of donated condoms in 2003. By 2007, the contraceptive donations ended. On the other hand, the US$3 million previously used for contraceptives was shifted to other projects such as midwife clinics, HIV/AIDS education, food fortification, monitoring and information systems, and others. Last year, in fact, Albay Representative Edcel Lagman was able to insert a P180-million budget for contraceptives for 2007. But that money remained unspent. Even Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the amount would certainly not be used for artificial contraceptives.

It has been projected that the lack of adequate supply of contraceptives for couples needing these would push the countrys population to double every year. Obviously, the loss of 80% of contraceptive supply, and the governments refusal to fill up the shortfall could aggravate and expand the Philippine population to 180 million in about 15 years, instead of the current projection of 30 years. The doubling of the population is expected to inevitably be related and worsen the other problems resulting from unmitigated population growth. Consider this: The number of uneducated and unemployed Filipinos living below the poverty line could double. Instead of 225 children dying daily because of poverty-related diseases, as estimated by UNICEF, we may have 450. Instead of 400,000 abortions per year, as estimated by the University of the Philippines Population Institute, there could be 800,000. This could push the country deeper into underdevelopment and poverty.

Family planning is the planning of when to have children,[1] and the use of birth control[2][3] and other techniques to implement such plans. Other techniques commonly used include sexuality education,[3][4] prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections,[3] pre-conception counseling[3] and management, and infertility management.[2] Family planning is sometimes used in the wrong way also as a synonym for the use of birth control, though it often includes more. It is most usually applied to a female-male couple who wish to limit the number of children they have and/or to control the timing of pregnancy (also known as spacing children). Family planning may encompass sterilization, as well as abortion.[5] Family planning services are defined as "educational, comprehensive medical or social activities which enable individuals, including minors, to determine freely the number and spacing of their children and to select the means by which this may be achieved."[4]

The Reproductive Health bills, popularly known as the RH Bill, are Philippine bills aiming to guarantee universal access to methods and information on birth control and maternal care. The bills have become the center of a contentious national debate. There are presently two bills with the same goals: House Bill No. 4244 or An Act Providing for a Comprehensive Policy on Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health, and Population and Development, and For Other Purposes introduced by Albay 1st district Representative Edcel Lagman, and Senate Bill No. 2378 or An Act Providing For a National Policy on Reproductive Health and Population and Development introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago. While there is general agreement about its provisions on maternal and child health, there is great debate on its key proposal that the Filipino taxpayer and the private sector will fund and undertake widespread distribution of family planning devices such as birth control pills (BCPs) and IUDs, as the government continues to disseminate information on their use through all health care centers. Private companies and the public and private elementary and secondary school system will be required to participate in this information and product dissemination as a way of controlling the population of the Philippines.[1] The bill is highly divisive, with experts, academics, religious institutions, and major political figures both supporting and opposing it, often criticizing the government and each other in the process. The issue is so divisive that at one point, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines threatened to excommunicate the President, Benigno Aquino III if he supported the bill.