The Good side of RH Bill
Studies by the National Youth Commission show that the youth are more
vulnerable and at a greater risk without proper reproductive health services.
Young pregnancies account for 30% of all daily births in the Philippines.
According to the Commission on Population, 3 out of 4 young women die every day
because of maternal complications. Furthermore, A study by the National
Epidemiology Center in 2005 shows young pregnancies have the highest rate of
fetal deaths, especially by women under age 15. In December 2010, the
Department of Health reports that there are 489 cases of young men and women
infected with HIV. There are 6 new and unique detections of HIV every day, 59%
of which is in 20-29 years old bracket and 28% belong to the 15-24 years age
range. In line with these problems, there is a need to make solutions. One great
solution would be the implementation of the Reproductive Health bill, or the RH
bill. One of the aims of the RH bill is to solve these problems by providing
access medically safe, legal, affordable and quality natural and modern family
planning methods. The RH bill also aims to guarantee universal access to
information about birth control and maternal care. Thus, the RH Bill should be
passed because it helps the Philippines progress towards development by
offering women healthcare, providing sexual education to students, and helping
the Filipinos to have responsible family planning.
There are reasons why the reproductive health bill is not yet passed;
however, majority of the people believe that the advantages brought by the implementation
of the reproductive health bill will outweigh the cons that go with it.
According to the survey hosted by Pulse Asia, 69% of the respondents from
different regions are pro RH bill and they believe that the implementation of
the bill would do more good than harm.(Pulse Asia, 2012)
The first plausible disadvantage of RH Bill is that the money that will
be used in funding the bill would be subject to corruption from officials. An
estimate of 14 billion pesos would be allotted to the bill if the bill would be
implemented (Department of Health, 2012).
The money involved can blind those corrupt officials; however, health
and development should be prioritized.
The bill provides healthcare services to women and the marginalized. The
Women and marginalized are prioritized by providing for their needs such as
legal, affordable and quality reproductive health care services. After the
implementation of the bill, the State guarantees universal access to
medically-safe, legal, affordable and quality reproductive health care
services, methods, devices, supplies and relevant information thereon even as
it prioritizes the needs of women and children, among other underprivileged
sectors (SECTION 2, RH Bill, 2008).
Furthermore, women seeking care for post-abortion complications shall be
treated and counseled in a humane, non-judgmental and compassionate manner.
(SECTION 3, RH Bill, 2008). The health and development of the marginalized
sector and the women should be clearly prioritized over the risk of the money
being stolen by corrupted officials.
Second, the implementation of the bill would possibly increase the
number of couples engaged in pre-marital sex. However, this would not be the
case because the bill aims to provide sexual education to address this problem.
As stated in the bill, “Mandatory Age-Appropriate Reproductive Health Education,”
recognizing the importance of reproductive health rights in empowering the
youth and developing them into responsible adults, Reproductive Health
Education in an age-appropriate manner shall be taught by adequately trained
teachers starting from Grade 5 up to Fourth Year High School. In order to
assure the prior training of teachers on reproductive health, the
implementation of Reproductive Health Education shall commence at the start of
the school year one year following the effectivity of this Act.” If the youth
are educated regarding the consequences of pre-marital sex, they would become
responsible and they would know their limitations.
Third, critics believe that the bill would lead to the legalization of
abortion; however, the bill aims to prevent unwanted, unplanned and mistimed
pregnancies. As stated in the bill, with “respect for life” as one of its
guiding principles (sec. 2), the bill unequivocally states that it does not
seek to “change the law on abortion, as abortion remains a crime and is
punishable” (sec. 3.m). It can be argued, in fact, that in guaranteeing
information on and access to “medically-safe, legal, affordable and quality”
natural and modern family planning methods (sec. 2), the bill seeks “to prevent
unwanted, unplanned and mistimed pregnancies” (sec. 5). The bill addresses the
issue before it occurs and not the issue after pregnancy occurs.
Lastly, the church disproves of the use of contraceptives. If the church
is pro-life, how can the suffering of the marginalized sector and the mass with
regard to the sexually transmitted diseases be ignored? The bill aims to
address these problems with the adequate supply of contraceptives given to the
mass. It is now time for the church to realize that the old teachings are not
always applicable to the present situations and problems.
With the pros and cons stated, the people should realize that the
implementation of the RH bill would not just cause us present relief but also
the development of the country by offering women healthcare, providing sexual
education to students, and helping the Filipinos to have responsible family
planning. It is now time to act, let us stop being so naive to the issues being
faced by the country. The implementation of the bill is one step further to
development.
Word count: 903
References
Anti-RH
bill proponents are ineffective and ignored by the people; 69% support RH bill.
(2010, December 1). Retrieved from
http://2010presidentiables.wordpress.com/2010/12/01/new-pulse-asia-survey-on-rh-bill-shows-the-anti-rh-bill-proponents-are-ineffective-and-ignored-by-the-people
The
RH Bill as pro-life and pro-women. (2011, March 9). Retrieved from
http://www.likhaan.org/content/rh-bill-pro-life-and-pro-women
Reproductive
Health Bill. (2011, February 21). Retrieved from
http://www.congress.gov.ph/download/basic_15/HB04244.pdf
PB
listens to pros, cons. (2011, July 19). Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/25789/pb-listens-to-pros-cons
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