Sex education under the Reproductive Health Bill

One of the components of the reproductive health bill officially titled as "Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2008" is mandatory reproductive health education, an euphemistic term for sex education. While the Bill tasks the Popcom and the Department of Education to craft the curriculum for this, it specifically requires the teaching of population and development concepts plus the following: "Reproductive health and sexual rights; reproductive health care and services; attitudes, beliefs and values on sexual development, sexual behavior, and sexual health; proscription and hazards of abortion and management of post-abortion complications; responsible parenthood; use and application of natural and modern family planning methods to promote reproductive health and achieve desired family size and prevent unwanted, unplanned and mistimed pregnancies; abstinence before marriage; prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and others, responsible sexuality; and maternal, pre-natal and post-natal education, care and services."

From such a broad range of subjects one can see that the bias of these sex education imperatives is on population control disguised under concerns on sexual rights, reproductive health care, and sexual health. But are these subjects appropriate for children aged 10 to 15? Do we expect our children to be sexually active within this age range?

By nature Filipino children are not yet sexually mature during their high school years. Awareness of sex may be starting to develop but a stable boy-girl relationship is an exceptional occurrence among them. Hence, it is too early for them to be discussing reproductive health, much less sexual rights, in the class.

A woman's health relative to her capacity to reproduce or bear children inevitably involves discussions on the clinical aspects of conception including the nature and function of the ovum and how it can be fertilized by a sperm cell. But this cannot be understood without pointing out how the sperm is transmitted, so the teacher cannot help out discuss also the sexual act itself. And if the teacher uses a visual device, imagine her showing a picture of a man and a woman in the act of sexual union. This scenario may seem an exaggeration, but it can happen because one cannot just talk of the birds and the bees when discussing the reproductive process and its implication to one's health.

Now, if you are the parent of a 14 or 13-year-old child or younger, would you allow the latter to be exposed to this kind of school lesson? Lurking at the back of your mind, I'm sure, is the fear that your child, unprepared as he is to talk about sex (since in our societal mores and tradition he or she is too young for it) may acquire a wrong notion about sex and sexuality. I'm sure too that when it comes to such subjects you would rather handle the learning process yourself because you know your child better than anyone else and therefore you can adjust your lesson to his or her maturity level.

In addition to sexual behavior and sexual health, the matter of family planning is also to be taught among others, "to achieve desired family size and prevent unwanted, unplanned and mistimed pregnancies". Under this topic are such subjects as natural and artificial methods of controlling birth, which means that the teacher will have to show how such methods are applied and in the process teach the details of each.

When for instance the teacher takes up the artificial means of controlling birth, it is necessary for her to discuss the details of, among others, vasectomy, ligation, the use if IUD, birth control pills, etc., otherwise she cannot be understood. Of course, as she does so she has to show an illustration of a woman's sex organ and how these contraceptive devices function. This, again is too lurid for adolescents to take without being scandalized. But the greater danger is giving young boys and girls an idea of how to do sex and get away with it. This would encourage sexual fixation among adolescence, a tendency which could later translate into an urge towards active sex life sans marriage.

To go back to the menu of topics on sex education under this Bill, where's the one that pertains to respect and observance of the Christian ethos on sex and sexuality? The Church teaches that sex is for married people only and that its functions are both unitive and procreative. But the framers of this Bill have conveniently forgotten this. Is this legislation for the 85 million Christian Filipinos?

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