Many contraceptives OK’d in RH bill possibly illegal – lawmaker

HALF of the artificial family planning methods in the Reproductive Health Bill could be illegal, a lawmaker said Friday.

Rep. Anthony Golez Jr. of the Lone District of Bacolod City noted that such figure would surface if it the state will decide to adopt the idea that life begins at fertilization, not at implantation.

The stage of fertilization is defin-ed by Mosby’s Medical Dictionary, MedTerm Medical Dictionary and Webster’s New World Medical Dictionary as “the process of combining the male gamete or sperm with the female gamete or ovum. The product of the combination is a cell called zygote.”

The stage of implantation, on the other hand, is defined by American Medical Association Encyclopedia of Medicine, Charles Clayman, MD Medical Editor,
Random House, New York 1989 and Dictionary of Genetics 6th Edition as “an attachment of the blast cyst to the epithelial lining of the uterus, its penetration through the epithelium and in humans, its embedding in the compact layer of the endometirium, beginning six or seven days after fertilization of the ovum.”

For Golez, a public health doctor by profession, life begins at fertilization.

He categorized the oral contraceptive pills and intrauterine device (IUD) as abortifacients because the two said artificial family planning methods prevents the already fertilized egg from being implanted in the uterus.

The oral contraceptive pills, Golez disclosed, has three effects namely: preventing ovulation (releasing the unfertilized egg 14 days before women’s monthly menstruation), thickens women’s mucus discharge or secretion and alters uterine lining also through thickening.

The second and third effect, Golez said that block the implantation of the fertilized egg in uterus in the process.

“If it really prevents ovulation, why the need for two other effects? This is because the success rate of oral contraceptive pills is only 97 percent,” Golez said in an interview.

Under informed choice, the government is mandated to give all fertility control choices to every couple whether national or artificial. The approved natural family planning methods are: calendar method, withdrawal method, personal control and abstinence. On the distaff side, the services offered by the Department of Health known as artificial methods such as condoms, IUD, oral contraceptive pill, injectibles and other methods.

Having said so, Golez filed House Resolution 509 calling the House Committee on Health to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, to answer the question regarding when does human life begins, whether from the moment of fertilization or from implantation, in order to determine if the services of the Reproductive Health and family planning programs of the government are lawful on unlawful.

“The country is divided as to the definition of when life begins, then it is to be presumed that the choices used for fertility control are not yet certain whether they are lawful or unlawful as provided for by our constitution as to the protection of life from moment of contraception,” Golez, the vice chairman of the House Committee on Public Health, said.

Golez noted that the Congressional inquiry would invite medical experts and doctors, but not necessarily Obstetricians/Gyne-cologists because the latter would naturally argue that life begins at implantation since they are the ones prescribing oral contraceptive pills.

“If we establish that life starts at fertilization, then half of the RH services are abortifacients. How can we provide informed choice when the choices are unlawful or illegal? Before we can give our people informed choice, we should first make sure that choices are lawful already,” he added. –Llanesca T. Panti Reporter, Manila Times