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January 19, 2011

ABID3
Endterm paper
RS3





 

I. Introduction

The Philippine church is against the RH Bill, headed by the lawyer Jo Imbong,
executive secretary of the Legal office of the Catholic Bishops¶ Conference of the
Philippines and consultant to the CBCP Episcoal Commission on Family and Life.
The Church stands firmly that the proposed bill is not prolife because to value
human life is to respect and protect life in all its seasons. Human life begins at
fertilization and the State shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the
unborn from conception written in the Constitution, Article II, section 12. The usage of
contraceptives increases the risk of breast cancer, Chlamydia and gonorrhea and oral
contraceptives containing cyproterone increase risk of deep venous blood clots and
many more. Levonorgestrel is banned in our country as the BFAD found it to be
abortifacient Life-threatening ectopic pregnancies occur in mothers.
The Bill is not family friendly according to the church. The encouragement to
have children is manipulation both brazen and subtle. The children will be taught
³adolescent reproductive health´ and the full range of information on family planning
methods, services and facilities for six years, and the church considered it to be child
abuse of the highest order. Every Child has the right to be brought up in an atmosphere
of morality and rectitude for the enrichment and strengthening of his character included
in the Child and Youth Welfare Code. They believe that if this bill, it wagers the future
of the country. Citizens have a right to resist misplaced and irresponsible exercise of
authority because the good of the people is the supreme law ³Salus populi est suprema
lex. The path of irresponsible legislation is a dreadful path. If an act is made legal, it
will be perceived as moral. If an act is perceived as moral, it will become a norm. If it is
observed by all as a norm, then it is too late. By then, you will have changed the
culture. That is not simply reckless. It is the ultimate breach of public trust.

II. Content

The churches teachings consider RH bill to be oppressive of religious belief. The

bill seeks to tell the Catholic majority not to listen to the Church and to listen to anti-
Catholic politicians instead. It seeks to establish a program which Catholic taxpayers will
fund in order to attack a doctrine of their faith. Is there a worse despotism? Would the
same people do the same thing to the followers of Islam or some politically active
religious pressure group? The pro-RH lobby claims surveys have shown that most
Catholic women want to use contraception, regardless of what the Church says about it.
It is a desperate attempt to show that right or wrong can now be reduced to what you
like or dislike. The truth is never the result of surveys. Contraception is wrong not
because the Church has banned it; the Church has banned it because it is wrong. No
amount of surveys can change that.

RH bill is unconstitutional. The Philippines is a democratic and republican State.

Yet the bill seems to assume we are a centrally planned economy or a totalitarian State,
which controls the private lives of its citizens. Truth is, there are certain activities of man
as man where the individual is completely autonomous from the State. Just as the
State may not tell a politician or a journalist how or when to think, write or speak, it may
not enter the bedroom and tell married couples how or when to practice marital love.
Article II, Section 12 of the Constitution says: ³The State recognizes the sanctity of
family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social
institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from
conception. The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth
for civic efficiency and the development of moral character shall receive the support of
the Government.´ The use of ³sanctity´ makes State obedience to God¶s laws not only
a solemn teaching of the Church, but also an express constitutional mandate. Now,
when the State binds itself to ³equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the
unborn from conception,´ it necessarily binds itself not to do anything to prevent even
one married woman from conceiving. A state-funded contraceptive program is an
abomination.

III. Conclusion

Therefore I conclude that I consider myself to be an anti-RH bill. After I have

read debates and articles about it, I have been aware of what these unnatural
medicines for family planning can affect my mother, sister, girlfriend, daughter to be and
generally the women, which is not so necessary. The church primarily concerns is to
protect the people especially the women and I am happy with that. Some
knowledgeable people may defend the bill to be legalized but for me, there is no room
for that in my own opinion and level of understanding. Some pro-RH bill may say that
what is the use of having more kids if you cannot give them efficient and sufficient
support and it is a crime.

So for me, the solution for that is to educate individuals with moral values, the
teachings of the church and the ethical ways of having a family to increase their
preparedness to real family living and not to use these medicines that could harm our
health or abuse children in a very young age. The children for me is not ready for sex
education for their primary concerns is just to have the right to play, have proper
clothing, enough food, shelter and a good parenthood. The government instead will
focus on free education and job opportunities for father who are jobless. The
Philippines is the only Christian country in Asia and I believe that the church should
stand firmly against it for it will affect our morality, living and culture from just a simple
act of change.