The Reproductive Health bill

Advocates of the Reproductive Health Bill No. 4246 are actively promoting the passage of the bill in Congress, saying their major goal is to enable couples to have “informed choice.” That simply means letting them know how to plan and space their families, and decide family planning methods of their choice.

But instead of pounding on listeners the message that the bill will legalize abortion (which it will not), and about going to hell if they take contraceptive pills and subject themselves to vasectomy and ligation, RH advocates like Forum for Family Planning and Development president Ben de Leon, former Health Secretary Alberto Romualdez, and Claire Padilla of Engende Rights told the Bulong Pulungan forum audience in somber tones the other day that the bill is not for the legalization of abortion but will in fact prevent abortion, and that it will benefit the poor. The rich, they said, have access to reproductive health information and resources to choose family planning methods, but not the poor, who do not have access to information nor the wherewithal to afford family planning methods.

The speakers’ task, they said, would be to convince legislators to pass the bill; right now, the majority is not for its passage. One wonders if this majority has seriously studied scientific data on contraceptives being medically safe, and the results of surveys showing that majority of their constituents are in favor of the RH bill. Having seen the data, would it be fear of their bishops threatening to thwart their reelection bid if they support the bill that’s why they are not supporting it?

I wonder if majority of the legislators will vote for the bill if it’s done by secret ballot.

 I wonder how things would be if a national referendum were held on the RH bill. Would a referendum be ever held on such a matter? I guess not; the bishops would be the first to oppose such a preposterous proposal.

Interestingly, someone dared ask, who in the forum audience favored having an RH law? Most everybody raised their hand.

Interestingly, too, a couple of the celebrity media women admitted that their father confessors allowed them to take the pill – so long as they did not tell their friends about it.

The speakers made note of the benefits of having an RH bill. With government resources, the number of maternal deaths and births will be reduced. The World Health Organization estimates that complications arise in 15 percent of pregnancies. From the two million plus live births alone, some 300,000 maternal complications occur yearly. This is seven times the Department of Health’s annual count for TB, 19 times for heart diseases, and 20 times for malaria in women. As a result, more than 11 women die needlessly each day.

An RH law will see to the training of skilled birth attendants and prompt referral to hospitals with emergency obstetric care as life-saving solutions to maternal complications, and for women who wish to stop childbearing, family planning is the best preventive measure, and contraceptive methods will be given only to the poor who need them. But those against the bill would rather have 11 women die of birth complications yearly.

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I received a good number of emails objecting to the proposal that the remains of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos be interred in the Libingan ng Mga Bayani.

Marietta Cuyegkeng writes: “We completely agree with the sentiments and arguments set forth in your column (The Philippine STAR, March 31), and request you to make our sentiments and those of like-minded Filipinos be known to Vice President Jejomar Binay who has been tasked to handle this very contentious matter.

“Honor, justice, national pride and dignity should never be set aside for expediency and political considerations.

“After a world -acclaimed peaceful “People Power Revolution” that drove away a ruthless autocrat and his family, it is lamentable that today’s politicians should consider burying Marcos’ remains in the Libingan Ng Mga Bayani. Making this a reality would once more add to the perception of Filipinos belonging to a truly ‘damaged culture.’

“Angelo Reyes’ case is totally different from Marcos’, and the bottom line is, Marcos died unrepentant of plunder charges even as his heirs and scions maintain an aura and arrogance of being lily white. How true and how shameful that the Filipino people so easily forget the untold sacrifices, courage and heroism of those who valiantly fought to bring back democracy to our beloved country, willingly giving up their lives without knowing whether their sacrifices would bear fruition.

“We are in agreement with Cong. Lorenzo R. Tanada III that to bury Marcos at the Libingan Ng Mga Bayani is to ‘denigrate the memory and sacrifices of the authentic heroes of EDSA.’ An autocrat, a world class plunderer, is never a hero, despite the fact that his widow and children have now wormed themselves into positions of power, without an iota of contrition and restitution. Reconciliation must always be based on justice and restitution.

“Let Marcos remain buried in his special mausoleum in Ilocos Norte and allow the real heroes at the Libingan Ng Mga Bayani to rest in well-deserved peace.”

Angelito writes, “Mr. Marcos must not be buried at the LNMB. He should be buried on April 9, Bataan Day, since he was supposed to be a WWII hero. But his burial place should be the Bataan Nuclear Plant, which stands as a lasting memorial to his corrupt regime.”

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Noel Lopez and Frankie Aseniero, two of the country’s best musical artists, will be performing at the Union Church of Manila on Sunday, April 10, 7 p.m., to help raise funds for the church’s outreach program for preschool children, high school youth, out-of-school youth, and adults seeking elementary or high school equivalency accreditation.

Noel is a widely-travelled saxophone player, musical arranger, talent coordinator, music director and musician. Frank a celebrated tenor, has been performing SRO solo concerts in Europe and the United States. Both will perform individual, then duet numbers. Noel will play, among others, “Feel So Good” and “Wonderful World,” and Frank will sing Lehar’s “Yours is my Heart Alone,” “Music of the Night” from Phantom of the Opera, and “Per Te,” by Josh Groban. A duet number will be “The Prayer.”

The Union Church of Manila Philippines Foundation currently supports 100 preschool children, 15 high school scholars, and more than 50 out of school young people and adults. Aside from its education program, the foundation sponsors two medical missions a year in Tondo and Mandaluyong as additional outreach to the communities where its preschool children are based.

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My e-mail: [email protected]