Making a stand for family and for Life
The RH Bill has been an issue of debate among many in the Philippines lately. People from both sides have been saying a lot of things to defend their respective stances. Some have even resorted to slander, others to literal verbal abuse. Many, though, have little to no idea at all about what the RH Bill is all about. That’s the saddest part of it all.
Truth to tell, there are probably many Filipinos out there who are against the RH Bill, not merely because of their faith, but also because of the scientific reasons why passing the bill will be disadvantageous to the Filipino people. (To those of you reading this who are pro-RH, I do urge you to read on. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, so I hope you won’t mind me airing out mine here.)
I am one of those people who are against the RH Bill. I am quite vocal when it comes to all things that are for building up and strengthening the family, and am decidedly pro-life in my convictions. This is my stand not just because I am a Catholic and a member of a community that is pro-life, but also because I am a member of the human race. Even people from my beloved alma mater, which is known to be “secular” in nature, are against the RH Bill! I believe that all of us, no matter what religion or nationality, have this innate characteristic to foster and care for life in all forms. Our fellow human beings – Muslims, Buddhists, and even some atheists recognize the value of human life.
My Facebook profile picture”
More than anything else though, my main reason for being pro-life is because I am a mother and have experienced the miracle of life firsthand – in my womb, and outside of it, as a mom who provides the best nourishment for her children, her breast milk. As a mom, I only hope and pray that my kids will learn to love and cherish life in all forms just like my husband and I do.
Photo from www.nafeesablog.blogspot.com (She is a MUSLIM Pro-Life blogger! Cool huh?!)
As a pro-life mom, I do not believe that the Philippines’ problems such as widespread poverty, seeming “overpopulation” and rising cases of HIV/STDs will be solved by the RH Bill. In fact, I firmly believe that it may even worsen our situation.
Look at our neighbour Thailand, for example. According to the British Medical Journal (Volume 328, April 10th 2004 issue), in 1987, the number of AIDS victims in Thailand was 112, while the number in the Philippines was 135. In 1991, the World Health Organization predicted that the Philippines would have 80,000 to 90,000 cases and Thailand 60,000 to 80,000 AIDS victims. Around this time, Thailand started promoting the use of condoms in massive campaigns while the largely Christian and Catholic Philippines encouraged people to observe “abstinence” and “be faithful.”
In 1999, it was seen that the prognosis of the WHO was wrong for both countries – the number of AIDS victims in both countries was estimated as follows: 1,005 for the Philippines and 755,000 for Thailand.
Quoting from another article:
"20 years into the pandemic there is no evidence that more condoms leads to less AIDS," stated Dr. Edward C. Green of Harvard's Center for Population and Development Studies. Citing data on condom availability in many African counties, Green went on to say that “we are not seeing what we expected: that higher levels of condom availability result in lower HIV prevalence.” Dr. Norman Hearst of the University of California San Francisco supported this analysis with statistics on Kenya, Botswana, and other countries, which show an increasingly alarming pattern of increased condom sale correlation with rising HIV prevalence by year.
In a New York Times interview, Dr Edward C. Green, Senior Research Scientist at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies , cited evidence that "partner reduction," promoted as mutual faithfulness, is the single most effective way of reducing the spread of AIDS.... there is also a troubling suspicion among a growing number of scientists who support the ABC model that certain opponents may simply be AIDS profiteers, more interested in protecting their incomes than battling the disease.
(For more information on this, you may want to go here, here and here).
As for the problem of poverty, do we really think that giving away condoms and other contraceptives will make the Philippines more economically progressive? Will people actually have enough food on their table if they have easier access to contraceptives? I personally believe that it is not our population that makes us poor, but the lack of sharing and giving.
If more people would adapt the motto “Less For Self, More For Others, Enough For All,” our country would indeed be a better place. Instead of using taxpayers’ money for promoting contraceptives, it would be better put to use to fund poverty-alleviation programs like the DSWD’s 4Ps and Kalahi-CIDSS, or donor-funded organizations like ANCOP and Gawad Kalinga. Even our Muslim countrymen agree that the RH Bill “does not solve the problem of poverty.”
Dr. A Majid Katme, Muslim coordinator for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) and spokesman for the Islamic Medical Association in the UK, can also be quoted as saying "Islam is the religion of mercy and we Muslims should act and show this mercy by trying to stop the unjustified killing of our innocent unborn children through the barbaric procedure of abortion." Although the RH Bill is not promoting the legalization of abortion per se, there have been numerous studies showing that a lot of contraceptives are abortifacient in nature. I can’t discuss this in detail right now, but you can read more about this here, here and here.
Another thing about the RH Bill that really bothers me is its sex education component. As a parent, I agree to some extent with my fellow mom blogger Tita Noemi when she wrote that “sex education is not just about the birds and the bees” and that it “needs to be taught in the context of values, of relationships and love.”
Our children making a sign for the February 13 'Filipinos Unite for Life Rally'
The finished product – Children Are A Gift From The Lord
Now, Tita Noemi and I may not be on the same page when it comes to the RH Bill, but the reason she gave for talking to her children about sex are basically the same as mine – I prefer that my kids learn about sex from me (and their father) than from anyone else. And I believe that hearing about it in their Grade 5 classroom will do them more harm than good. As a homeschooling mom, I am of the belief that parents are their children’s first and best teachers, because we love our children and always want what is best for them.
Hubby and I at the February 13 'Filipinos Unite for Life Rally.' We were supposed to bring the kids but they were sick. Through their pro-life sign however, they were with us 'in spirit.'
I could go on and on about the RH Bill. But I’ll let you, dear readers, discover more about it on your own, and just hope and pray that you will be enlightened by everything you read. For starters, you may want to try checking out these websites:
If you want to read some scientific facts about the RH Bill, you can check out this link. For a legal analysis of the RH Bill, go here.
Attorney Jose C. Sison’s Articles on Philstar.com
SAFE – Subtle Attacks Against the Family Explained
P.S. Where will you be on March 25 (Day of the Unborn)? Join our fellow Filipinos as we MARCH, PRAY and RALLY FOR LIFE!
Rally for Life
Heeding the call of His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales on March 14, 2011, join us in an interfaith rally and the celebration of the Holy Eucharist on the Feast of the Annunciation and the Day of the Unborn on March 25, 2011, 4 p.m., at the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta. For more information, please go to Pro-Life Philippines’ Facebook page or call the Pro-Life Secretariat at 733-7027 or 734-9425.
P.P.S. Do you oppose the RH Bill? Sign the petition and be counted! Join us on Facebook! Show your support for the Safe Baby Bills (see picture below). And last but not the least, pray for the Philippines!
Pro-Life Bills
