Deceptive contraceptives

Deceptions and erroneous conclusions force me to continue writing about population control issues brought back into public consciousness. This is one controversy that refuses to die down precisely because some misleading and/or inaccurate factual points and arguments keep on popping up to support the alleged urgent need for the country to check the supposed alarming rise in population through the use of artificial contraceptives.

Admittedly, and as frequently cited and overly stressed by the staunch advocates of these contraceptives (the pros) our population has grown to 88 million. They do not tell us however that the size of the population is not the sole determining factor in formulating a population policy. The growth rate is equally vital. On this point, the pros continue harping on the figure of 2.36 percent established by the National Statistics Office (NSO) way back in the year 2000. They wittingly omit to mention that per NSO figure as of 2005, the rate is already down to 1.96 percent and by 2010-2015 it may further fall to 1.81 percent. In fact, statistics also show that the average family size has been reduced to 5 which is a far cry from the 11 children of that Bohol mother cited by the PCIJ.

These figures show that the feared population explosion will not happen; that our population growth has been effectively checked and will eventually be on the decline. They signify that there is really no such extreme urgency for the government to address the alleged unbridled population growth; that it is indeed alright for the government to concentrate more on improving the economy to alleviate poverty and promote health and education of the populace rather than on curbing the population growth. The Health Secretary should not therefore be faulted for declaring that family planning is the “least of their priorities” but that their “overwhelming priority is the improvement of the maternal health care to reduce the maternal mortality rate”.

To be sure, it is not even accurate to say that the Administration has no population control (or management) program. It is in fact advocating natural family planning method to Filipino couples in attaining their goal as to the desired size of their families. And based on statistics, the method seems to be succeeding. But to the pros, the government allegedly lacks a population control program simply because it has not promoted and provided access to the birth control pills and other artificial methods they are aggressively promoting to afford couples the freedom of choice.

The freedom to choose like any freedom is not absolute. It may be restricted whenever the choice would bring harm to individuals and to society. The proffered contraceptives of the pros are already proven to bring harm to innocent persons. The intra uterine devices cause abortion; the so called “morning after” pills have been the cause of breast cancer while hormonal birth control pills and certain low dose oral contraceptives often do not prevent conception. They actually prevent implantation of an already fertilized ovum which is nothing but abortion or the killing of an already conceived individual. Even if women are duly informed of these harmful effects, it is wrong to give them freedom to choose and have access to such contraceptives. So what freedom are we talking about here?

Hence the government can not be faulted for advocating and promoting the safer natural family planning method. This is a method that has definitely no such harmful effects on women as the cancer causing and abortion inducing contraceptives of the pros. Indeed it entails no expense at all on the part of the couples and less expense on the part of the government who will not be forced to buy those expensive pills from the multi-nationals. The couples just have to exercise the spiritually uplifting self-control after being properly informed of how it is done. The expenses if any on the part of the government consist only in disseminating the proper information to couples rather than in purchasing those harmful pills and providing couples with them. So the Department of Health is treading on dangerous legal ground if they will heed the demand of the Congressman Edcel Lagman to use the P180 million appropriations in purchasing those contraceptives.

On the other hand, it is therefore likewise unfair to say that the Catholic Church influences the population policy of the government which, as claimed by the pros, may even be in violation of the constitutional precept of Church-State separation. In the first place, this principle does not mean “freedom from religion but freedom of religion” as rightfully explained by Randy Alcorn a noted author. Secondly, the issue here no longer involves the principle of Church-State separation. It is already a question of what is right or wrong that has nothing to do at all with the principle of church-state separation. So the President is not actually influenced by the Church but by what she believes is right. In fact even the State’s criminal law punishes abortion caused by taking those pills precisely because abortion is wrong.

Then there is also the oft repeated but flawed attempt to attribute the problems of hunger, poverty and health to overpopulation. The truth is there are enough space and resources in our country and in this planet for people not to starve, not to remain poor and to stay healthy. These social problems are actually caused by a combination of so many other factors not connected at all with overpopulation. These factors include natural disasters like that happening now, wars like what is happening in the south, lack of technology, misuse or abuse of resources, waste, greed, government corruption, inefficiency and ineffective economic programs. Depopulation will not solve these social problems at all. Let me quote again the very apt words of Randy Alcorn in his book on this particular issue:  “Having fewer people alive to experience those problems is not a solution to those problems”.

I am aware that I may be branded as politically incorrect especially by pragmatists. But I have to make a stand in the interest of truth. Certainly we have to face realities in solving this alleged problem. And these realities are: that our population is big but its growth has been effectively checked and is now on the decline; that the contraceptives offered to solve the alleged overpopulation problem are harmful to women’s health, causes abortion and even death; only the big pharmaceuticals and their supporters in government stand to benefit from them.

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