It’s not fair if you are not being able to make your own choices in whatever you do in life. Somebody chooses for what you eat, what you wear, where you should go, what you must do. Come to think of it. Filipina women were identified as ‘mahinhin’ but have the capability to show how to reel their rights and voices in a crowd to fight for a win. In this post, I’d like to talk about the House Bill 5043 or the Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2008. Popularly known as the RH Bill, it provides safety measures to help women and their families stay healthy, and to provide an environment where the freedom to choose is being acknowledged. Many Filipinos, especially the underprivileged, remain unaware of, or are misinformed about their contraceptive options.
In the Philippines
*For every 100, 000 women who give birth, 230 die from health complications.[1]
*For every 1, 000 babies born, 23 of them die within the first year of life.[2]
*When a poor couple has nine or more children, they can spend only P682 per child for education in a year, and they are only able to spend P150 a year for the health care of each family member.[3]
As far as I’m concerned, I believe RH Bill is not pro-abortion. Under HB 5043, abortion remains a punishable crime. However the bill ensures that those women suffering from complications as a result of illegal abortion will be provided the necessary medical care. The bill makes family planning methods such as pills, condoms, injectables and IUDs to be available in public health facilities for easier dispense to those who can’t afford to pay for OB-gyne doctors. The injectables and other related reproductive health products will be considered essential medicines and will be part of the National Drug Formulary which means public health facilities like government hospitals, health centers and clinics in respective places will make these products a regular part of their essential purchases, it’s clear that it should be one of their function. Couples, who find any natural family planning (NFP) methods effective, will be able to continue using it.
I wonder why the leaders of the Catholic Church are entirely against the bill. In fact the government is not imposing or requiring the bill to its men and women. IT IS ONLY an option. I can see RH Bill wants to promote consciousness to everybody to control the widespread and unpleasant growth of our country’s population. It is for us to be aware that we have the right to choose. In Visayan dialect, “Dili lalim magsige panganak nga walay kasiguruhan og naa kay ipakaon, ipasinina og ipaeskwela sa imong mga bata” (It’s not easy to just give birth to babies without an assurance that they will be well-fed, well-clothed and they can all go to school when they grow up). And a person either cannot control his/her self when it comes to having sex with his/her spouse or partner. So the best cure is to control the union of the reproductive cells. The word in there is clear, to control, not to kill. The World Health Organization defines reproductive health as the state in which people are able to have a “responsible, satisfying and safe sex life, the capability to reproduce, and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so”.
[1] State of the World’s Population 2008, UNPF
[2] Ibid
[3] Pulse Asia , 2007
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