Divisive

One thing clear at this stage about the RH bill is that it can be passed by Congress, especially by the Lower House, only through sheer force of numbers obtained by means of pressure from the powers that be. Indeed the bill’s proponents are now openly urging Malacanang to push for its passage. This recent move is a clear indication that without such “push,” the bill will not be approved. But even if the bill is passed under these circumstances, the discord and rift already created by it will not be patched up, but will become deeper, bitterer and more serious. Definitely, this is not good for the country; a divided nation is a fragile nation.

Actually the bill has already caused so much discord and serious rift in this country for a number of reasons. Foremost among them is the intrusion of foreign governments, entities and international agencies which are the real authors of the original bill. These foreign groups are clandestinely working behind the scenes through local non-government organizations for the passage of the bill to promote their own interests and purposes of controlling our population, mainly through contraception while at the same time boosting the business of their pharmaceutical companies manufacturing and selling these contraceptives, regardless of our existing laws, beliefs and practices. But in lobbying for its passage, they say the bill is for purposes of solving our alleged poverty problem and promoting the reproductive health of women especially the impoverished ones.

This lobbying and foreign intrusion into our legislative process have never been disputed or denied by the proponents and supporters of the bill. In fact they are openly operating in our shores as shown by yesterday’s holding of the “Summit on Family Planning” among our businessmen and business leaders organized by the United Nations Fund for Population and Development and Administration (UNFPA), international pharmaceutical companies led by Zuellig, and supported by no less than the United Kingdom. Even this administration through our own Secretary of Foreign Affairs endorsed said Summit. And as expected, a protest rally was held against it because it was obviously organized to push for the passage of the RH bill. This foreign intrusion will really cause division. 

Another reason for the dissension and discord surrounding the RH bill is the unfair and evasive tactics employed by the bill’s proponents and supporters. Instead of refuting and disproving the points raised by the objectors of the bill with their own facts, figures and findings, they concentrate their attack and focus their attention on the people or institutions raising those valid points.

The most recent and concrete example here is what they are doing to Senator Tito Sotto. Senator Sotto has indeed delivered the most telling blows against the RH bill in his “Turno En Contra speech on the Senate floor. Among others, he pointed out the existence of the foreign lobby groups using and pressuring local legislators to introduce and work for the passage of the bill. He exposed the hidden agenda of these foreign groups which is population control through contraception instead of women’s reproductive health and poverty alleviation that the sponsors are telling us. He cited the findings and reports of researches and studies, backed up by facts and figures, on the dire effects and adverse consequences of contraception that the bill is promoting particularly the abortive effects of certain pills, and their dangers to the health of mother and child. And he also showed that the bill is no longer necessary since there are at least 23 existing laws already serving and satisfying all the purposes of the bill, particularly women’s reproductive health and the maternal health of other and child during birth.

But instead of refuting and disproving all the points raised by Senator Sotto with their own scientific findings of facts and statistics to the contrary, the bill’s proponents and supporters attacked him personally. Instead of showing that his statements are not true, they accused him of copying and appropriating as his own those statements and passages from the works of others. They accused him of plagiarism instead of exposing the falsity of what he allegedly plagiarized. To be sure, it is still highly disputable that there is plagiarism here just because he failed to mention the sources of some of the contents of his speech.

Another example of these evasive tactics is the attack on the Catholic Church and the defects and weaknesses of a few of its prelates. The proponents and supporters attack the Church mainly for exposing the evils of contraception as shown in other countries practicing it where broken marriages and families, teenage pregnancies and other social aberrations and moral degenerations have become rampant. They do not at all dispute these evil effects of contraception but instead concentrate their attacks on few of the prelates of the church who have committed those evils. They blame the Church for opposing the bill not because of the falsity of its claim on the evils to be brought about by the bill, but because of the defect and weaknesses of some of its prelates.

Another unfair tactic is blaming those opposing the bill as spreading disinformation specifically on contraception as causing abortion. The proponents insist on the simplistic connotation of contraception as preventing conception. Thus they say it does not result in abortion because there is no life yet that is killed. They ignore established scientific and medical findings showing certain contraceptive pills and methods as failing to prevent conception that also result in abortion.

These are the reasons for the division and dissension now besetting this nation. And they will not disappear if this RH bill is passed.