Seven quotes on the RH bill

From the Facebook page of pro-life author, blogger and journalist Diana Uichanco:

”Sabi ho ng kabilang partido, kaya daw po naghihikahos ang gobyerno ay dahil walang budget for stretching. Nanggaling na mismo sa kanila ang stretching… eh di kung linagyan pa po ng pondo na pambili ng condoms at contraceptives, eh di you stretch [the budget] further. So alin po ang willing i-sacrifice ng pro-RH legislators sa budget para lang po namin maisingit ang gusto nilang pondo para sa procurement of condoms and contraceptives?

“We can even see that the budgets for education, for tertiary educational scholarships, skills training, livelihood projects, assistance for farmers, agrarian reform beneficiaries, are being cut.” – ZAMBALES REP. MITOS MAGSAYSAY

“It makes me wonder whether there is lack of freedom at present that warrants a new controversial measure that is HB 4244 just to give people a choice that they already enjoy. Certainly it is not prohibited to practice natural family planning or to abstain from sex altogether, nor is it prohibited at present to use contraceptives. Is there any existing law that prevents us from exercising freedom of choice on matters of contraception and abstinence? There is none.” – PALAWAN REP. DENNIS SOCRATES

"The government has no right to fund the purchase of bibles, crucifixes, copies of the Koran etc. because these are [personal] preferences. In the same way, the government has no right to fund the purchase of contraceptives.” – ED SORRETA, PRO-LIFE PHILIPPINES CHAIRMAN

“The RH promoters do whatever they have to do to get these things passed — they spend their money in promotion, in getting journalists on their side, opening clinics to circumvent pro-life laws, wooing politicians who value their own power more than they do the families and culture of the nation they represent. If they can’t get what they want — which is free-of-charge and full access to contraception and abortion — passed democratically, they will use the courts or other non-democratic means to get what they want.” – STEPHEN PHELAN, HUMAN LIFE INT'L (HLI) COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

“In 1984 was the AIDS breakout in the Philippines and in Thailand at the same time. The response in the Philippines was to promote abstinence; the response of Thailand was to promote condoms. Twenty years later, the rate of AIDS infection in Thailand was 50 times higher than in the Philippines.” – CHRIS STEFANICK, CHASTITY SPEAKER

“They want us to accept from Congress what is contrary to our faith. They ask Catholics to show tolerance for their belief or non-belief, but they show complete non-tolerance for our Catholic belief.” – FORMER SENATOR, FRANCISCO TATAD

“Banal ang pag-aasawa; banal ang pagtatalik sapagka’t ito ay kalakip ng pagbibigay ng buhay na galing sa Panginoong Diyos. Hindi ito laru-laruan na ituturo sa mga bata sa paggamit ng goma, lobo o condom, para iwasan daw ang sakit? Bakit mga bata ang tuturuan ng ganitong laro? Hindi po ba ang tamang ituro sa kabataan ay ang magandang halimbawa ng matatanda at ang kahalagahan ng buhay, ang kabanalan ng pagpipigil sa sarili na ang tawag ay disiplina? Ang tawag po noong una ay kapag may pagpipigil, mayroong disiplina at paggalang at magkakaroon din ng Karakter ang tao. Ngayon ang gustong ipamulat sa kabataan ay ito: gamitin ang goma, maglaro kayo! Ganyan kabarato ang buhay ng tao ngayon.” – FORMER ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA GAUDENCIO CARDINAL ROSALES, at the March 25, 2011 pro-life rally

More on why the RH Bill is unnecessary

With the caveat that the Magna Carta of Women isn't in line with Catholic teaching either, although it is not as reprehensible as the RH Bill:

RH Bill concerns already addressed in existing laws
Diana Uichanco

MANILA, May 23, 2011―By pushing for the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill, authors and advocates of the measure are calling for the passage of a bill which merely duplicates already existing laws that aim to address problems concerning women's welfare.

"There's no need for the RH bill. The Magna Carta for Women and the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004 already cover it," said Jose Descallar, pro-life advocacy staff of Buhay Party List Rep. Mariano Michael Velarde.

"These laws address the issue of abuse and domestic violence, provide economic rights, political rights and cultural rights. Iyong dalawang laws na 'yon, covered na lahat ng iyan."

Issues of equal opportunities for employment, and guaranteeing assistance of the State to women are also part of the laws, according to Descallar.

"And then sabi nila pa'no yung mga babae na ang mga asawa ay lasenggo? Pag-uwi ng bahay ay pipilitin si babae, so might as well mag-pills na lang si babae, mag-inject na lang, mag-IUD na lang para huwag mabubuntis. Hindi mo ina-address yung violence against women," he explained, pointing out that this is the reason why the legislators came up with an anti-violence law.

"Ang dami na nating batas, implementation lang ang kulang. There's also the Family Code, the Revised Penal Code... We don't need this (RH) bill," he added.

Magna Carta of Women

The Magna Carta of Women, or Republic Act 9710, which was signed into law in 2009 by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, includes women's health among its provisions.

Under Rule 4: Rights and Empowerment of the law's Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), the delivery of comprehensive health services is mandated, with the involvement of government and private agencies tasked with implementing the program.

Section 20 of Rule 4 zeroes in on "women's right to health," starting off with the following:

"The State shall, at all times, provide for comprehensive, culture-sensitive, and gender-responsive health services and programs covering all stages of a woman's life cycle and which address the major causes of women's mortality and morbidity: Provided, that in the provision for comprehensive health services, due respect shall be accorded to women's religious convictions, the rights of the spouses to found a family in accordance with their religious convictions, the demands of responsible parenthood, and the right of women to protection from hazardous drugs, devices, interventions, and substances."

Through the Magna Carta of Women, access to a list of comprehensive health services is ensured, including maternal care (pre-natal, delivery and post-natal services); responsible, ethical, legal, safe, and effective methods of family planning; family and state collaboration in youth sexuality education and health services without prejudice to the primary right and duty of parents to education their children; and prevention and management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

Other health services provided for by the law are prevention and management of reproductive tract cancers such as breast and cervical cancers, and other gynecological conditions and disorders; prevention of abortion and management of pregnancy-related complications; and in cases of violence against women and children, women and children victims and survivors shall be provided with comprehensive health services that include psychosocial, therapeutic, medical, and legal interventions and assistance towards healing, recovery, and empowerment.

Agencies tasked with implementing the provisions for comprehensive health services are the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Education (DepEd), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), local government units (LGUs), and non-government organizations (NGOs).

Proponents of the RH Bill have lately been emphasizing the need to give women access to information, which, it turns out, is already part of the Magna Carta of Women.

Under Rule 4, Section 20 on "women's right to health", it maintains that “the State shall provide women in all sectors with appropriate, timely, complete, and accurate information and education of all the above-stated aspects of women’s health in government education and training programs, with due regard to the (1) The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth and the development of moral character and the right of children to be brought up in an atmosphere of morality and rectitude for the enrichment and strengthening of character; (2) The formation of a person’s sexuality that affirms human dignity; and (3) Ethical, legal, safe, and effective family planning methods including fertility awareness.

Tasked with the implementation of these education and training programs are the DepEd and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).