Ansel Beluso on why he opposes the RH bill

Mr. Ansel Beluso published the following note on Facebook on why he opposes the RH bill. I am publishing this note with his permission.

For more about Mr. Beluso and his life story, please read this: ANSEL BELUSO: From zombading of the worst kind to being zealous for Christ!!!!

BAKIT KO TINUTUTULAN ANG RH BILL?

Una, ako ay sumasampalataya sa kabanalan ng buhay, na siyang pinakasagradong biyaya ng Diyos. Ako ay nananalig na ang buhay ay nagsisimula sa akto ng pagtatagpo ng punlay ng ama at ng itlog ng ina. Ako ay naniniwalang anumang paraan na humahadlang at sumisira sa pagpapatuloy ng likas na daloy ng buhay mula sa puntong iyon ay labag sa kalooban ng Diyos.

 

Pangalawa, ako ay tutol sa abortion. Bagama’t ang salitang “abortion” ay hindi matatagpuan sa alinmang pahina ng House Bill No. 4244, marami sa mga contraceptive methods na isinusulong at popondohan nito ay mayroong abortifacient potential, may kakayahang magbunga ng tinatawag na chemical abortion. Ang chemical abortion ay abortion.

Pangatlo, naniniwala akong ang tinatawag na reproductive health education component ng RH Bill ay mapanganib para sa pamilya at sa kabataan na ayon sa Saligang Batas ng ating bansa ay tungkulin ng Estado na itaguyod, kalingain at pagyamanin.

 

Ang RH Bill ay mapanganib sa pamilya dahil pinahihina nito ang ugnayan ng magulang at anak; at pinanghihimasukan nito ang karapatan at obligasyon ng magulang bilang pangunahing guro at gabay ng mga anak sa usapin ng seksuwalidad.

 

Ito rin ay mapanganib sa kabataan dahil ituturo nitong isabuhay ng ating mga anak ang kalayaang magbubunga ng ibayong kapusukan at mga maling pagpapahalaga. Ito ay salungat sa aral ni Ama at ni Ina, kumakalaban sa tradisyon at kalinangan nating mga Filipino, at may malaking potensiyal na magdulot ng peligro sa kapakanan ng mga bagong sibol na Filipino. 

Pang-apat, naniniwala akong hindi solusyon ang idudulot ng RH Bill kungdi karagdagan pang problema. Nakikita natin ang masamang bungang idinulot ng batas na ito sa mga kanluraning bansa – contraceptive mentality, secular lifestyle, godless ideology, etc. Ang panukalang ito ay magpapabago sa pananaw at pagpapahalaga ng lipunan sa lahat ng aspeto ng buhay na nauuwi sa kapahamakan ng tao sa pangkalahatan. 

Panglima, hindi ako naniniwalang ang RH Bill ay pangkababaihan. Una, isang katotohanang marami sa mga contraceptive methods na sinasabing “safe” ay hindi “safe” dahil nagpapanipis ng matres, nagpaparupok sa obaryo, sumisira sa natural cycles ng katawan ng babae, at may potensiyal na magbunga ng sakit tulad ng iba’t ibang cancer. Pangalawa, walang contraceptive method na 100 percent safe. Ang mga kontraseptibong itinuturing na 99-percent safe ay naglalagay sa panganib sa 1 percent ng gumagamit nito. Samakatuwid, sa bawat isang milyong kababaihang gumagamit ng 99-percent safe contraceptive methods ay may sampung libong babaeng magkakaroon ng pinsala mula rito.

 

Pang-anim, hindi ako naniniwalang ang RH Bill ay pangmahirap. Ayon sa aking payak na pang-unawa, ang solusyon sa kahirapan ay hindi yung lipulin natin ang mga mahirap at hadlangan ang kanilang likas na kakayahang magparami. Sa halip, kasama sa mandato ng pamahalaan na mabigyan sila ng mga paraan upang makaahon sa kahirapan sa pamamagitan ng mga basic services na kailangan nila para magkaroon ng parehas na laban sa buhay, umunlad, yumaman at makapag-ambag din sa lalo pang ikasasagana ng bansa. 

Pampito, sumasampalataya ako sa Simbahang Romano Katoliko at Apostoliko; at kusa akong pumapailalim at nagpapasakop sa mga Obispo at kaparian na pinananaligan kong nag-aangkin ng dunong ng tao at pinagdadaluyan ng dunong ng Diyos. Naniniwala akong hindi katigasan ng ulo o bulag na pagtaguyod sa makaluma at sinaunang kaisipan ang nagbubunsod sa Simbahan para tutulan ang RH Bill; naniniwala akong ang panukalang ito ay labag sa kalooban ng Diyos kaya ito, ayon sa kunsensiya ko, ay imoral at makasalanan.

 

Panginoon, gabayan Mo ang Iyong bayan.

Doctor and former contraceptive user turned pro-life advocate: the edifying example of Dr. Dolores Octaviano

Published by Manila Times on July 1, 2012:

Doctor for Life

EWTN CATHOLIC LIVES 

Editor’s note: Every Wednesday (5:30 p.m.), Saturday (10:30 p.m.) and Sunday (10:30 a.m.) the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) Global Catholic Network features the program “Catholic Lives Asia.” It is hosted by Chi Chi Robles, who interviews a guest whose inspiring life story is an example of how a Catholic should live.

Spirituality Times offers a retelling of the televised interview story for the printed page. Today’s life story is that of Dr. Dolores “Dolly” Octaviano, an endocrinologist of Iloilo City who is also a champion for life. The show appears in TV stations of the Catholic Media Network.

AN endocrinologist, Dr. Dolores “Dolly” Octaviano holds clinic hours in many hospitals in Iloilo City.

“I am the 9th of 10 children. My mother was a housewife, my father a farmer. If we had the foreign family planning program then, I would not be here, ” Dr. Octaviano shares.

Now parents of four, Dr. Octaviano and her husband, a former seaman, are deeply involved in the prolife movement. 

“Initially I was not really all that prolife. I was a nominal Catholic. I even used the pill and had a ligation. But the grace of God touched me,” Dr. Octaviano confesses, and adds, “God’s grace will touch any life he chooses and he gave me the grace to recognize that being a Catholic is a defense of Jesus, it’s a defense of everything noble in us.”

The testimony of a former contraceptive pill user

From the "Letters to the Editor" section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer:

How contraceptive methods turn women into liars 
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Monday, June 4th,

The Mother’s Day editorial (“For mothers and their kids,” Inquirer, 5/13/12), using a “CNN hero” to call for the swift passage of the Reproductive Health bill, must have been written under a certain spell. Our Magna Carta for Women, which just needs to be implemented, more than covers all our needs. 

Turning his back on an election promise that he would “not promote” contraceptives, the only new thing in President Aquino’s RH bill is a P3 billion yearly budget for contraceptives—found by the most reliable science to be harmful.

I always felt sick every time I used the pill. Now I know why. The 2010 study of the prestigious Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention concluded that “Current use of oral contraceptives carries an excess risk of breast cancer” and that “Previous studies convincingly showed an increase in risk of breast cancer associated with current or recent use of oral contraceptives from the 1960s to 1980s.” 

We also have three separate meta-analyses: (1) the Stroke Journal—Pill confers “risk of first ischemic stroke”; (2) The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism of 2005—“current use of low-dose OCs significantly increases the risk of both cardiac and vascular arterial events”; and (3) Archives of Family Medicine—the Pill works after fertilization; and thus aborts a 100-cell embryonic human. 

Plus many other serious studies showing that contraception increases promiscuity, leading to more AIDS cases, more single mothers, more fatherless children, more female poverty. 

As the Philippine Medical Association itself said:  Contraception turns women into liars. “I give myself to you entirely,” I tell my husband, “but I don’t give you a key part of me: my fertility!” 

I tell you: when my husband was using a condom, I could feel na ginagamit niya lang ako. I’ve told him so; and he has been so good as to change his behavior. 

Is the Inquirer really pro-women? Or has the Inquirer just been victimized and fallen under the spell of the materialistic, animalistic, amoral and atheistic brainwashing of the powerful media of the degenerate West? 

—YVONNE CHAN-DE LOS REYES

A former Filipino anti-Catholic on young Filipino anti-Catholic netizens

From Pepe Alas' article on the appointment of Msgr. Luis Antonio Tagle as the Archbishop-elect of Manila: A famous theologian will be Manila's next Archbishop:

Catholic theologians such as the new Manila Archbishop should deftly explain that the Church’s stand against the RH Bill is not solely rooted in faith and morals alone. In the end, it all boils down to logic. And this is one of the first challenges that the latest Prince-Cardinal should tackle. 

Speaking of logic… 

Many young Filipino “intellectuals” today who love to make a punching bag out of the local Catholic Church claim to be “lovers” of ideologies and “champions” of liberalism. And that the Church is “out of logic”. They love to “philosophize” and display the many witty quips that they learn from tomes of books they claim to have read. They proclaim themselves as “the new Rizals”. They claim a hatred for mediocrity and “religious superstition”, clamoring for a more intelligent and “freethinking” Filipino. But many of them do all this for the mere heck of it, and not for the purpose of a better society. And now we have social networking. Through these new media they rant and multiply and increase, and they spend hours upon hours in front of their PCs than they do with their pet lizards because they could not get a real job nor could they maintain contact with physical friends (but to them, the words “contact” and “physical” could mean something else). Unfortunately, these kids, for all their intellectual hogwash, have already revealed their characters and self-worth by the choice of words that they use in various online forums. Wittingly or unwittingly, what these bunch of “sucks-to-be-you” kids are doing will only lead this country to anarchy. If they ever win, within a decade or two we will certainly have a transsexual president who will legitimize pole dancing as a school subject. I dare say all of this because I used to think like them — been there, done that. I’ve mingled with so many of these book-toting crybabies back in the 90s. And just thinking about it makes me supersick. 

What these “lemme-give-y’all-an-iota-of-my-superb-brain” jactanciosos claim to know about the Catholic Church is so superficial to say the least. All I can say is this: looking back at my brief anti-Catholic self, I just couldn’t believe how stupid I was (a long story that I’ll share one day). 

I’m glad that I dealt a lot with logic whenever I flip a page out of a dusty book. Gracias a Dios por este regalo de sabiduría. 

So here’s hoping that Manila’s new archbishop will also tackle the increasing number of “pseudo intellectuals” from elsewhere. Not for the Church’s sake actually, but for these proud but hapless kids’.

Remarkably enough, the author of these lines began his return to Catholicism from agnosticism as he struggled against the temptation of aborting his second child. As he relates in a blog post he made more than two years ago:

I was brought back to the Catholic fold last 2003 due mainly to personal researches about my country’s Spanish past. Along the way, I was able to discover and realize the leyenda negra (black legend) being hurled against the Spanish clergy. Ironically, I ended up defending the Spanish friars against everyone attacking them although I was still an atheist! Little by little, my “reconversion” was on its way. I soon became an agnostic. And one September night of that year, as I was pondering whether to have my wife abort our second child or not, God gave me a sign. 

You see, 2003 was the worst and arguably one of the best and memorable years of my life. I was jobless, disowned by my folks and various relatives, living in a decrepit bodega, penniless, you name it. It was during this year when I did nothing but read, write, ponder, steal books, ponder some more, dream. And since I was (surprisingly) having difficulty in getting employed, I thought that having another baby was too much (I was already then an agnostic during this time). I was goading my wife for days to give up the baby. I was giving her horrible scenarios of what might happen to us if she doesn’t accept abortion as a solution: poverty, poverty, and lotsa poverty. Finally, I was able to make her say yes. We planned of going to Quiapò to buy an infamous pill (Cytotec) to kill the fetus. 

I admit, however, that I felt uncertain and very afraid of doing it. So before committing the crime, I prayed to God for the very first time in years. While walking desolately along Chino Roces Avenue one night on my way home, I muttered, “Lord, if you are indeed real, show me a sign —any sign— that you disapprove of this abortion”. 

The sign came that very night. Upon arriving home, I talked again to my wife (without telling her that I prayed). I told her that we have to abort the fetus soon, the next day, while the it is not yet in human form (an infamous argument by “pro-choice” advocates). Quietly, she agreed. And as we slept together, I thought of my prayer – I had no idea what kind of sign I would receive… if God were ever real. After a few minutes, we drifted to sleep. 

But moments later, my wife woke me up. I was surprised — she was crying! In between sobs, she said she’d rather not have an abortion. She said she’s willing to face anything —EVERYTHING— just to keep the baby. I embraced her, and broke into tears as well. 

It was no coincidence or anything like that. It couldn’t have been any clearer: that was the sign I’ve been waiting for… 

GOD IS REAL. 

And so a few months later, a very handsome José Mario Guillermo II P. Alas —Momay— was born. And my stupid fear of poverty-ridden-days-ahead was just that: plain stupid. Because now our kids are four, and we’ve never been better than before!

From pro-RH bill to pro-life: a public school teacher's conversion story

From Teresa Tunay's blog:

One woman's story, as told to...

Following is the story of a public school teacher who went with friends to the Batasan to give moral support to the sponsors of the RH Bill. Here’s her account, as told to this writer:

“I am a public school teacher. I grew an interest in the RH Bill because of my friends who work in a Non Government Office (NGO) and are in favor of the bill’s passing. Ever since I learned that we women would have at last a law dedicated to our health and empowerment, I followed the developments in the news. I watched ‘Harapan’ and ‘Grand Debate’ on television. I rooted for the pro-RH side, convinced beyond doubt that I would be among the first to benefit from the RH Bill if passed. I voted online for the bill’s passing, and although I wondered why the anti-RH gathered more votes, I thought people voted against the bill because they did not know what I and my friends knew; or maybe they were nuns and society women who do not experience the same problems we lower class women do.

“I am still of reproductive age, I take the pill, and I am married to a brute. My children are aged 8, 7 and 5. When talking with my friends about the helplessness of women in our society and under the law, I would get mad and think ours is really a male-dominated society. Women who get to the top (like women in politics, business or movie stars) do so because they are born rich or beautiful and therefore have the support of men in power. They have the luck which we other women do not have, but I am not complaining. At least I finished college and have a good job; however, that does not put me in a much better place than my fellow Filipinas who never even got beyond Grade 6.