Reproductive Health

Debate Rages: We have not seen the final text – because there is none yet — of the Reproductive Health bill that the Congress is being asked to pass and which the Catholic Church and proponents of the measure are passionately debating.

MANILA, Philippines – The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday declared a unilateral “ceasefire” by momentarily keeping a vow of silence and not issuing “incendiary statements” in an attempt to defuse the growing Church-government row over contraceptives.

MANILA, Philippines – Joining in the reproductive health (RH) bandwagon, lawmakers filed 6 separate bills to take advantage of the position taken by Malacañang.

President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III has no business talking to the leaders of the Catholic Church, a women’s rights activist said. EnGendeRights Executive Director Clara Rita Padilla said “good governance dictates that [Aquino] should not dialogue with the Catholic bishops on the government’s policy on reproductive health. Meeting with the bishops erodes the essence of…

As the debates heat up on the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill that is threatening to split President Aquino and the Catholic Church, Aquino said yesterday he is standing firm on his position to provide Filipino couples “informed choices” in family planning.

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino is seeking a dialogue with Catholic bishops and other religious leaders on the Reproductive Health (RH) bill even as he stands firm on his position that Filipino couples must be free to choose the way to manage their families but must exercise responsible parenthood.

While supporters of the controversial Reproductive Health Bill are now preparing to push for the passage of the measure, a lawmaker from Davao City yesterday said that there was no need to legislate the government’s policy on population management.

Despite the assurance by President Aquino that he remains firm on his stand on his program of delivering free contraceptives to poor couples who want them, and even when both houses of Congress have shown strong support for the passage of the Reproductive Health bill, it appears that Aquino may already be wavering on his…

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III on Friday moved to appease Catholic bishops by saying he might leave birth control education to local government units and religious groups. The government would “invite all churches predominant in various localities in the formulation of the education component of the family planning issue,” Mr. Aquino said in a mobile phone…

This debate is quickly turning into a farce. The president of the CBCP began talking about some contraceptives causing abortion, and therefore subject to the penalty of excommunication. Some media reports promptly took that as a veiled threat of excommunication against the President of the Republic.

MANILA, Philippines – A leading Catholic bishop denied yesterday reports that he threatened President Aquino with excommunication if the government pushes through with the distribution of contraceptives.

In a bid to make President Aquino bow to the Catholic bishops’ stand against the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill that will have government providing contraceptives to those who choose to utilize the artificial method in cutting down the size of their families, though “responsible parenthood,” the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of…

Hooray for a President who cares for the quality of life of his people (please don’t blink). Boo to a Church that doesn’t, that thinks 12 starving children sleeping on a mud floor under some rusty GI sheet is something God intended.

AN American-based engineering company has proposed to build a nuclear power plant in the country, Secretary Jose Rene Almendras of the Energy department said Thursday. During a briefing in Malacañang, Almendras said that the company was among those US business firms that wanted to pour in new investments in the country during the recent visit…

President to promote responsible parenthood THE leadership of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on Thursday said that there is a possibility that President Benigno Aquino 3rd could be excommunicated and expelled as a member of the Roman Catholic Church if he will push with his plan to make contraceptives available to poor…

So there are indeed strings attached to the $464-million MCC grant. All those gratifying, encouraging and non-controversial statements about fighting poverty and promoting sustainable economic growth in the Philippines during the photo-ops in New York did not give us a complete picture. P-Noy gave the entire picture only at a town hall style meeting with…

MANILA, Philippines – Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. is ready to face the wrath of the Roman Catholic Church in pushing for the passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill.

MANILA, Philippines – Health Secretary Enrique Ona yesterday said the Department of Health (DOH) would equally promote both the natural and artificial methods of family planning.

THE government is open to distributing not only condoms but also birth control pills to poor couples as part of its campaign to promote family planning, Health Secretary Enrique Ona said Wednesday.

MALACAÑANG spokesmen said yesterday President Aquino is willing to sit down with Church officials to discuss his stand on family planning, which they said is for responsible parenthood.

The country’s influential Roman Catholic bishops on Tuesday warned that they would support protests against President Benigno Aquino 3rd if he pushed through with his plan to promote contraception. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said that it was offended by President Aquino’s statement on Monday in which he said his government would…

Critics should not link the stand of President Benigno Aquino 3rd favoring government promotion of contraceptives to a $434-million grant from the US Millennium Challenge Corp., a senator said on Tuesday. “It would be unfair to link [President Aquino’s] stand to the Millennium Challenge grant because with or without it, family planning is an issue…

Three senators on Tuesday supported President Benigno Simeon Aquino III’s stand that the government should educate the public on responsible parenthood and informed choice in family planning.

Govt to give free contraceptives The Philippine government will provide contraceptives to poor couples who request them despite strong opposition from the dominant Roman Catholic Church, President Benigno Aquino 3rd said on Monday. Speaking during a satellite television interview from the United States where he is on a seven-day visit, President Aquino stressed that the…

MANILA, Philippines – The government will provide contraceptives to poor couples that request it despite strong opposition from the Church, President Aquino said yesterday.

THE Philippines is still struggling in dealing with maternal deaths despite achievements in women empowerment and gender equality. This was revealed by former President turned Pampanga second district Rep. Gloria Arroyo during her speaking engagements at the Fifth Clinton Global Initiative conference held in New York, United States, her spokesman Ma. Elena Bautista-Horn said Friday.

The government yesterday denied allegations that it manipulated population data to support a controversial family planning campaign in one of the world’s most populous Roman Catholic nations.

UNITED NATIONS – The statistics for maternal mortality have improved by 34 percent. That means a woman is no longer dying every minute, but one woman is still dying every minute and a half.

In the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic nation, the Church is the biggest hindrance to the passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill, a women’s advocate group said. The RH bill, which proposes to “guarantee to universal access to medically-safe, legal, affordable and quality reproductive health care services,” is one of the most contentious issues in…

Despite their promises to push for the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Congress leaders on Wednesday were noncommittal on the approval of the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill. In an interview after the ceremonial handover of the Citizens’ Report on the MDGs held at the House of Representatives, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile…