The new Health Department Secretary Enrique Ona obviously has so many other pressing matters needing attention of his department. Undoubtedly so many people are getting sick and are dying because of poor health services and inadequate facilities, not to mention the unavailability of basic medicines to prevent the spread of communicable diseases for a healthier nation. But like his predecessor, he is centering his attention on “reproductive health care” which is the primary focus of the RH bill that has not yet been enacted into law. He is already trying to implement some of its provisions particularly on the use of contraceptives as if pregnancy is a disease that should be prevented.
Just a few days after assuming office he has already made a pronouncement about family planning allegedly to promote the reproductive health of women. He is reported to have said that women should be given the right to have an informed choice on the methods of controlling births particularly the choice between artificial method through the use of artificial contraceptives, or the natural family planning method through mere abstention from sexual intercourse during the women’s fertile periods.
Ona’s stand is similar to the stand of the advocates and supporters of the RH bill which indeed sounds convincing as it contains messages about good health and a more prosperous life. Immediately noticeable however is that he is only out to promote artificial contraceptives. He is actually giving women another choice aside from natural family planning by making available to them these contraceptives. His concept of informed choice is to tell women that they have another way of controlling birth at no cost to them like natural family planning because the government will purchase these contraceptives for them. Apparently unlike natural family planning where no money is involved, the artificial method of birth control is another money-making deal where the biggest beneficiaries are the pharmaceutical companies manufacturing artificial contraceptives. And as shown in the past, all government transactions involving huge sums of money are the most fertile grounds for breeding corruption.
To be sure Ona also keeps on emphasizing that he is against abortion and that abortion is illegal. The problem however is that he is promoting the use of all forms of artificial contraceptives some of which have already been medically and actually shown in other countries particularly the USA, to have abortive effects. In announcing his move, he never said that he will also inform women of the dangers of these contraceptives so that they will really have an “informed” choice. Besides, with or without this warning, it is still wrong to give women the choice to use these contraceptives that may cause abortion or the killing of an innocent and defenseless child. The right to an informed choice certainly does not include the right to choose an inherently wrongful act.
But the more objectionable part in Ona’s projected action is that public funds will be used in purchasing these artificial contraceptives. These are funds coming from taxpayers, majority of whom have moral convictions and religious belief contrary to the very policy being espoused and implemented by Ona. It is really unjust that the financial resources of a community will be used to promote something which is directly opposed to their faith. Ona is already trying to implement a policy on population control which is not officially adopted by the State. Indeed, despite the many surveys conducted allegedly showing overwhelming support for the bill, as if the issue of what is right and what is wrong can be decided in a popularity contest, it has not been passed up to now.
There will be repeated attempts to re-introduce the bill and more aggressive pressures exerted by foreign funded groups with hidden agenda for our legislators to finally pass it. But there will always be dissenters because it is fundamentally unjust and because of its coercive and deceptive nature. It will always be divisive and controversial because its proponents are bent on pushing a population control program with the use of contraceptives that would eventually lead to abortion under the guise of reproductive rights or reproductive health.
To be sure even without specific legislation, there are already reproductive health education and promotion programs that can be undertaken and implemented by Ona without the use of contraceptives. He could concentrate on the more aggressive promotion of breast feeding, maternal and child health care and nutrition, family planning information and services and male involvement and participation in reproductive health, to name a few. There is really no pressing need to promote the use of artificial contraceptives because they are not one hundred percent effective anyway, they may even promote abortion and they entail a lot of expense that mainly promotes the financial interest of their manufacturers and breeds corruption which is contrary to the main thrust of this administration.
It is therefore hoped that P-Noy and his administration particularly the health department will re-examine their policy on this issue and finally realize that there is something inherently wrong in their projected actions promoting artificial contraceptives with the use of taxpayers’ money. –Jose C. Sison (The Philippine Star)
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E-mail at: jcson@pldtdsl.net
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