Catholics do have brains, Ms. Evangelista.

For the record:

Catholic faithful an intelligent lot

Philippine Daily Inquirer

July 6th, 2012

This is in reaction to Patricia Evangelista’s column titled “Contraceptive morality” (Inquirer, 6/24/12).

There is definitely a Christian and Catholic stand on the issue of the Reproductive Health (RH) bill. The faithful are a thinking, intelligent lot; and, above all, they realize the inherent dignity of man, each of whom is unique in his own way.

Tampering with a wonderfully made body of a woman—through the use of contraceptives to avoid getting pregnant, which is not a disease—is unethical. The integrity of her body deserves respect. Her reproductive organ is made for a good purpose. In line with chastity, only within marriage can the conjugal act be performed. And marriage is the total, permanent, unconditional self-giving of a man and a woman. Sacrifice, through abstinence or the use of natural methods like the Billings method, may be used to space childbirths, for serious reasons. Such sacrifice further enhances the love between a husband and his wife.

It is sad to note that the women-senators are aggressively endorsing the bill. These women were voted into office to take care of the wellbeing of Filipino women. And yet they aggressively seek passage of the RH bill that promotes the use of contraceptives that have been scientifically proven to be abortifacient and to cause cancer in women. What a disservice to womanhood. The senators are duty-bound to uphold the mandate they were sworn to perform.

—CHING D. AUNARIO,

chingauna@yahoo.com

The duty of women senators to fight the RH Bill

A letter to the editor published by Philippine Daily Inquirer on October 12, 2011:

Safest place for babies to become most dangerous

This refers to the news item titled “RH backers warn of Senate plot to derail bill” (Inquirer, 9/25/11), which reported on the views of RH supporters, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, author and principal sponsor of the RH bill, and Sen. Pia Cayetano, co-sponsor and chair of the Senate committee on women, children and the family.

It is sad to note that these women-senators themselves are rooting for the bill. They are mothers themselves who know the uncontainable joy of bringing forth a baby into the world! And yet now they want to disregard this and deprive others of the wonderful experience of beholding and cuddling a baby in their arms?

The mother’s womb is the safest place for a baby to live but now, with the women senators and congresswomen eagerly working to pass the RH bill, alas, it will become the most dangerous place for a baby. This is a gross disservice to women, children and the family whom these women-senators and congresswomen have vowed to protect.

These recent findings should be wake-up calls for Filipinos: A recent study of the University of Washington in 181 countries disclosed that maternal mortality rate in the Philippines had dropped by 81 percent from 1980 to 2008. Moreover, the World Health Organization has confirmed anew that oral contraceptives can directly cause cancer.

Our women senators and congresswomen are duty-bound to take the lead in protecting women, children and the family.

—CHING D. AUNARIO

MA. CIEFREL TUBALE, LICHELLE SALENDREZ, MARIA ANA PAULE, CAROL DAVID, MICHELLE EVANGELISTA, JESS HUTALLA, JOYCE DOFELIZ, ELENA MAULLON