Long lasting impact

Undoubtedly, since the introduction of the foreign sponsored and foreign crafted RH bill, a serious rift and deep division has been created in our nation. Never before have there been such heated discussions and sharp differences among Filipinos on several issues of fact and of law regarding this bill. Before it was introduced, we seemed to be traversing only one and the same road towards a peaceful, just and progressive country. But the bill has distracted us by creating a fork in the said road and dividing us in reaching our goals.

Presently, as P-Noy recently asserted, the State is against abortion and does not dictate the number of children a couple must have. It has not imposed birth control methods on anyone but “gives couples a choice of what option to take”. Indeed, there is already a law penalizing abortion as a crime and right now couples are free to plan the size of their family and to choose the method of controlling births. Under the present setup therefore, there is no more need for an RH bill. So why are we really still fussing over the said RH bill? Should we not just forget about it and move on looking for other solutions alleviating the life of our poor people?

Introducing said bill and insisting on its passage merely confirms that its real purpose is to appropriate public funds to finance the purchase of billions of pesos worth of artificial contraceptives and make them available for free especially to poor couples who cannot afford them under the present setup. Actually, the only other choice available to couples right now, the natural family planning, is already free and does not entail any cost, only self control and self sacrifice of abstaining from sex at certain periods. So after all is said and done, the actual meaning of “free choice” repeatedly mentioned by the bill’s authors and supporters is that both the artificial and natural methods will be free if the bill is enacted into law. The artificial contraceptives will be free because their purchase will be subsidized by the government while the NFP is actually available to couples already for free because it entails no cost at all. Considering the weakness of human nature, couples especially the poor will of course choose the artificial methods because they are easier even if they are harmful and dangerous to the physical and moral health of the individual and the society.

I hope P-Noy and the RH bill advocates and supporters would take an honest to goodness study and verification on the claim of the opposition about the many harmful effects and dangerous consequences if the bill as presently worded is enacted into law. They should find out about the experiences and situations in other countries where this so called “reproductive health care and services” have been introduced and adopted. Before pushing for the bill they should determine first the abortion-causing contraceptive pills and devices, for it cannot be denied that there are such pills and devices causing abortion directly or indirectly. Responsible leadership dictates that they also ascertain the truth of the many writings, articles, news reports and even a US Supreme Court decision concluding that abortion is a necessary consequence of contraception and “reproductive health” is nothing but abortion.

It would not be amiss for them as leaders of our country sworn to promote the common good to first ascertain the other harmful effects of contraception—whether or not the pills and other contraceptive devices cause cancer and other ailments to mothers and children. There is nothing wrong for them to first establish the truth or falsity of the many dire consequences of contraceptive mentality that will certainly arise if the RH bill is enacted into law like the many teen age pregnancies, the treatment of women as mere sex objects leading to breakdown of marriages and broken families.

In fact right now even if the RH bill is not yet enacted into law, another bill is already being introduced in Congress legalizing divorce which is definitely one of the effects of an RH bill becoming a law precisely because of that contraceptive mentality it may cause. Again, experiences in other western and eastern countries adopting the use of contraceptives to control their population confirm this dire consequence on marriage and the family. Coincidentally, and as expected the same legislators backing the RH bill are now introducing the divorce bill. This is one clear proof that the RH bill is not only an assault on the life of the unborn, but also undermines the sacred institution of marriage. Yet our Constitution expressly states that marriage is the foundation of the family and the family is the foundation of the nation. Eventually therefore, the very foundation of our nation will be on shaky grounds with the enactment of this RH bill.

Therefore, there are enough reasons to be worried about this RH bill. The primary concern here is actually the seeming indifference or total disregard of our leaders on the far reaching effects if the RH bill is enacted into law. If the leaders of our country especially P-Noy and members of Congress are really bent on promoting the common good of all citizens, they should carefully look into the many objections being pointed out about the bill. They should first determine whether or not these objections are well founded and then come out and explain to our people with solid arguments and proofs supporting their stand on why the bill is necessary and should be passed. –Jose C. Sison (The Philippine Star)

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E-mail at: jcson@pldtdsl.net