WHY don't we need the RH.

The Diocese of Dumaguete's Diocesan Council of the Laity versus the RH Bill
Diocesan council of the laity opposes RH bill

A RESOLUTION OPPOSING THE PASSAGE OF THE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH BILL AND ANY FORM OF IMP LEMENTATION THEREOF

WHEREAS, there is reliable notice that the Reproductive Health Bill will again be revived in the Congress of the Philippines through Congressman Edcel Lagman;

WHEREAS, the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines has always opposed the passage of the said bill not only on religious but also on economic and health reasons;

WHEREAS, the Reproductive Health Bill is an opener to the legalization in this country, as what happened in other countries now being classified as “dying” countries, or maybe “endangered” species, and the conditioning of the minds of Christian Filipinos to the use of artificial birth control methods and eventually of abortion;

WHEREAS, we firmly believe that the Reproductive Health Bill contains provisions which are contrary to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church on faith and morals and even of pertinent provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution;

WHEREAS, we firmly believe that the strongest and most valuable asset there is in our society is human resource and that the use of artificial birth control methods will eventually lead people to develop an anti child-mentality, mostly among women, as what happened in countries particularly in Europe where there was a massive introduction of artificial birth control methods and now resulting in the fact that majority of their population belong to the elderly and therefore less, and even no longer, productive economically and which situation is seen as the prime reason for the economic downturn and difficult economic recovery of the European Union Community, as well as in other countries with similar experience;

WHEREAS, we do not believe that the provisions of the Reproductive Health Bill will really effect in the enhancement of the health of the woman, but on the contrary, the corresponding practice will result in various body problems of women not experienced in the past;

WHEREAS, as Catholics, we have to be obedient to the teachings of the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church.

NOW, THEREFORE, on motion of Bro. William Ablong, duly seconded by Bro. Lucianito Caseres, LET IT BE RESOLVED, as it is hereby RESOLVED, that the Diocesan Council of the Laity of the Diocese of Dumaguete express to the legislative and executive bodies of the local government units in the Provinces of Negros Oriental and Siquijor which comprise the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Dumaguete, our strong and vigorous OPPOSITION to the passage into law of the Reproductive Health Bill and for this purpose a resounding REPRESENTATION, by copy of this Resolution, is hereby made for our Representatives of the Province of Negros Oriental and Siquijor to present our arguments to the halls of Congress and to vote against the passage of said bill;

RESOLVED FURTHER, that, should any appearance be necessary before any of the abovementioned government bodies/ officials in order to substantiate our stand, our Spiritual Director and the Vicar General of the Diocese Msgr. Gamaliel Du Tulabing is hereby requested and duly authorized to represent the Diocesan Council of the Laity of the Diocese of Dumaguete for the purpose.

UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.

from this link

Choosing Life, Rejecting the RH Bill 9

6. We echo the challenge we prophetically uttered 25 years ago at EDSA I and call upon all people of good will who share our conviction: “…let us pray together, reason together, decide together, act together, always to the end that the truth prevail” over the many threats to human life and to our shared human and cultural values.

We commend our efforts against the RH bill (or the Responsible Parenthood bill – its new name) to the blessing of our almighty and loving God, from whom all life comes and for whom it is destined.

Choosing Life, Rejecting the RH Bill 8

Our Calls

As religious leaders we have deeply and prayerfully reflected on this burning issue. We have unanimously made the moral judgment – to reject the RH agenda and to choose life.

1. We call for a fundamental transformation of our attitudes and behavior towards all human life especially the most defenseless, namely, human life being formed or being conceived. The cheapness with which many seem to consider human life is a great bane to our religious-oriented nation.

2. We call upon our legislators to consider the RH bill in the light of the God-given dignity and worth of human life and, therefore, to shelve it completely as contrary to our ideals and aspirations as a people. We thank our legislators who have filed bills to defend human life from the moment of conception and call upon all other legislators to join their ranks.

3. We thank the great multitude of lay people all over the country, and particularly the dedicated groups who made their presence felt in the halls of Congress, to defend and promote our position. We call upon other lay people and adherents of other religions to join the advocacy to defend and promote our commonly shared ideals and aspirations.

4. We call on our government to address effectively the real causes of poverty such as corruption, lack of social and economic services, lack of access to education and the benefits of development, social inequities.

5. We call for the establishment of more hospitals and clinics in the rural areas, the deployment of more health personnel to provide more access to health services, the building of more schools, the provision of more aid to the poor for education, and the building of more and better infrastructures necessary for development.

Choosing Life, Rejecting the RH Bill 7

What We Stand For

On this matter of proposed RH bills, these are our firm convictions:

1. We are deeply concerned about the plight of the many poor, especially of suffering women, who are struggling for a better life and who must seek it outside of our country, or have recourse to a livelihood less than decent.

2. We are pro-life. We must defend human life from the moment of conception or fertilization up to its natural end.

3. We believe in the responsible and natural regulation of births through Natural Family Planning for which character building is necessary which involves sacrifice, discipline and respect for the dignity of the spouse.

4. We believe that we are only stewards of our own bodies. Responsibility over our own bodies must follow the will of God who speaks to us through conscience.

5. We hold that on the choices related to the RH bill, conscience must not only be informed but most of all rightly guided through the teachings of one’s faith.

6. We believe in the freedom of religion and the right of conscientious objection in matters that are contrary to one’s faith. The sanctions and penalties embodied in the proposed RH bill are one more reason for us to denounce it.

Choosing Life, Rejecting the RH Bill 6

In the light of the above, we express our clear objections:

1. We object to the non-consideration of moral principles, the bedrock of law, in legislative discussions of bills that are intended for the good of individuals and for the common good.

2. We are against the anti-life, anti-natal and contraceptive mentality that is reflected in media and in some proposed legislative bills.

3. We object strongly to efforts at railroading the passage of the RH bill.

4. We denounce the over-all trajectory of the RH bill towards population control.

5. We denounce the use of public funds for contraceptives and sterilization.

6. We condemn compulsory sex education that would effectively let parents abdicate their primary role of educating their own children, especially in an area of life – sexuality – which is a sacred gift of God.

Choosing Life, Rejecting the RH Bill 5

Advocates also assert that the RH Bill empowers women with ownership of their own bodies. This is in line with the post-modern spirit declaring that women have power over their own bodies without the dictation of any religion. How misguided this so-called “new truth” is! For, indeed, as created by God our bodies are given to us to keep and nourish. We are stewards of our own bodies and we must follow God’s will on this matter according to an informed and right conscience. Such a conscience must certainly be enlightened and guided by religious and moral teachings provided by various religious and cultural traditions regarding the fundamental dignity and worth of human life.

Advocates also say that the RH bill is necessary to stop overpopulation and to escape from poverty. Our own government statistical office has concluded that there is no overpopulation in the Philippines but only the over-concentration of population in a number of urban centers. Despite other findings to the contrary, we must also consider the findings of a significant group of renowned economic scholars, including economic Nobel laureates, who have found no direct correlation between population and poverty. In fact, many Filipino scholars have concluded that population is not the cause of our poverty. The causes of our poverty are: flawed philosophies of development, misguided economic policies, greed, corruption, social inequities, lack of access to education, poor economic and social services, poor infrastructures, etc. World organizations estimate that in our country more than P400 billion pesos are lost yearly to corruption. The conclusion is unavoidable: for our country to escape from poverty, we have to address the real causes of poverty and not population.

Choosing Life, Rejecting the RH Bill 4

What We Specifically Object to in the RH Bill

Advocates contend that the RH bill promotes reproductive health. The RH Bill certainly does not. It does not protect the health of the sacred human life that is being formed or born. The very name “contraceptive” already reveals the anti-life nature of the means that the RH bill promotes. These artificial means are fatal to human life, either preventing it from fruition or actually destroying it. Moreover, scientists have known for a long time that contraceptives may cause cancer. Contraceptives are hazardous to a woman’s health.

Advocates also say that the RH bill will reduce abortion rates. But many scientific analysts themselves wonder why prevalent contraceptive use sometimes raises the abortion rate. In truth, contraceptives provide a false sense of security that takes away the inhibition to sexual activity. Scientists have noted numerous cases of contraceptive failure. Abortion is resorted to, an act that all religious traditions would judge as sinful. “Safe sex” to diminish abortion rate is false propaganda.

Advocates moreover say that the RH bill will prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. This goes against the grain of many available scientific data. In some countries where condom use is prevalent, HIV/ AIDS continues to spread. Condoms provide a false security that strongly entices individuals towards increased sexual activity, increasing likewise the incidence of HIV/AIDS. “Safe sex” to prevent HIV /AIDS is false propaganda.

Choosing Life, Rejecting the RH Bill 3

Commonly Shared Human and Cultural Values – Two Fundamental Principles

Far from being simply a Catholic issue, the RH bill is a major attack on authentic human values and on Filipino cultural values regarding human life that all of us have cherished since time immemorial.

Simply stated the RH Bill does not respect moral sense that is central to Filipino cultures. It is the product of the spirit of this world, a secularist, materialistic spirit that considers morality as a set of teachings from which one can choose, according to the spirit of the age. Some it accepts, others it does not accept. Unfortunately, we see the subtle spread of this post-modern spirit in our own Filipino society.

Our position stands firmly on two of the core principles commonly shared by all who believe in God:

(1) Human life is the most sacred physical gift with which God, the author of life, endows a human being. Placing artificial obstacles to prevent human life from being formed and being born most certainly contradicts this fundamental truth of human life. In the light of the widespread influence of the post-modern spirit in our world, we consider this position as nothing less than prophetic. As religious leaders we must proclaim this truth fearlessly in season and out of season.

(2) It is parents, cooperating with God, who bring children into the world. It is also they who have the primary inalienable right and responsibility to nurture them, care for them, and educate them that they might grow as mature persons according to the will of the Creator.

Choosing Life, Rejecting the RH Bill 2

Background

We begin by citing the Philippine Constitution. We do so because we intend to write you on the basis of the fundamental ideals and aspirations of the Filipino people and not on the basis of specifically Catholic religious teachings.

We are at a crossroads as a nation. Before us are several versions of a proposed bill, the Reproductive Health bill or sanitized as a Responsible Parenthood bill. This proposed bill in all its versions calls us to make a moral choice: to choose life or to choose death.

At the outset we thank the government for affording us an opportunity to express our views in friendly dialogue. Sadly our dialogue has simply revealed how far apart our respective positions are. Therefore, instead of building false hopes, we wish at the present time to draw up clearly what we object to and what we stand for.

Moral Choices at the Crossroads — at EDSA I and Now

Twenty five years ago in 1986 we Catholic Bishops made a prophetic moral judgment on political leadership. With this prophetic declaration we believe that we somehow significantly helped open the door for EDSA I and a window of political integrity.

Today we come to a new national crossroads and we now have to make a similar moral choice. Our President rallied the country with the election cry, “Kung walang corrupt walang mahirap.” As religious leaders we believe that there is a greater form of corruption, namely, moral corruption which s really the root of all corruption. On the present issue, it would be morally corrupt to disregard the moral implications of the RH bill.

This is our unanimous collective moral judgment: We strongly reject the RH bill.

Choosing Life, Rejecting the RH Bill 1

LINK


Note to Pro-Lifers: The Interfaith Prayer Rally against RH Bill changed its venue & date to February 13, Sunday, 4:00 PM onwards at the PICC Grounds, Roxas Blvd.The Coalition of Family and Life are composed of Christians, Muslims and Catholics will march and pray together against RH Bill.
Wear light blue armbands and bring banners and candles to the rally. Call the pro-life office at 7337027 or text 09192337783. Tune in to Radyo Veritas 846 for more details.


(A Pastoral Letter of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines)


Our Filipino Brothers and Sisters:

The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights (Art. II, Section 11). The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception (Art. II, Section 12).

RH Bill Timeline Part 1 (Comment)

LINK

Reproductive Health Bill Timeline

It would be impossible to look back and trace the history of the Reproductive Health Bill currently pending in the Philippine congress without taking a peek into the roots of birth control and population management that began in the late 1800s. In 1793, economist Thomas Malthus fathered the population control movement when he published An Essay on the Principle of Population, effectively frightening British leaders with his claim that food production would never be able to keep up with population increase.1 Contraceptives weren't unknown at the time, but social norms meant that they weren't talked about either. It was in this environment that atheists and Malthusians Annie Besant and Charles Bradlaugh gained notoriety in 1877 by publishing Charles Knowlton's booklet promoting what they called "sex without pregnancy". The booklet had already been in quiet circulation for decades but its publication triggered quite the response even from the prosecutors that convicted Besant and Bradlaugh. Although the duo was found guilty of publishing the obscene booklet, the attention that they received did much to encourage a large number of people to employ contraceptive measures. Even before they went to trial they had sold more than 130,000 copies of the booklet. It was also around this time that the birth rate of England began to fall, at first in privileged households, and then eventually in every social class and occupation.2, 3

Two years after Besant and Bradlaugh, Margaret Sanger was born to a poor New York household with eleven kids. Growing up she was exposed to much hardship and suffering and she attributed this to the fact that they had a large family. As a nurse she witnessed the tragic death of a pregnant woman, and it forever changed her. She was convinced that eliminating procreation from the sexual equation was the solution to many social ills. Sanger coined the term "birth control" in 1914.4 She, along with Marie Stopes from the UK, Elise Ottesen-Jensen from Sweden, Baroness Shidzue Ishimoto from Japan and Lady Rama Rau from India, would be the pioneers of the sexual revolution. They not only broke rules, they made new ones: rules that would shape the attitudes of the world about the meaning, purpose and value of human life.5

Events in the early 1900s -- war, famine, migration -- fueled the efforts of neo-Malthusians, eugenicists, birth controllers, and demographers. Each of these groups had different concerns for which they were seeking solutions. Some believed in preserving and increasing "good stock" to maintain national identity. Others were alarmed with the growing population outside their borders and thought it would be in their nation's interests to control migration and preserve racial purity. Included in these were world leaders apprehensive about the loss of economic and political power. Yet others were concerned about replacing people lost through war, famine or disease. And still others were afraid that growing populations in places like India would eventually be difficult to sustain and that humanitarian efforts to help these nations would certainly end up in bringing Western civilizations down.

Sanger was a genius in organizing and she was able to bring together well-known and moneyed people from different disciplines to advance her cause. Sanger wanted everyone -- the eugenicists, the population controllers, the demographers, the Malthusians -- to see that all of their concerns could be solved by one thing: contraception. Though she was marginalized at first by the very men she invited to her conferences, her ideas soon took hold and became promoted as useful for "the common good." It would take a while before these movements would eventually grow into global coalitions, but Sanger and others like her planted the seeds wherever and whenever they could.6 Today, many who recite the mantras that grew out of this eugenicist and racist movement scarcely realize the beginnings of the causes for which they fight.

In the Philippines early on, President Ferdinand Marcos bought heavily into US and UN agenda of depopulation, signing the 1967 Declaration on Population, a statement made the previous year by representatives of 12 countries.7 Since then, much effort has been expended within and without to increase contraceptive use and promote voluntary sterilization. Marcos, Ramos, Estrada and now Aquino, all had similar views regarding population as it relates to economic development. It was during their watch that depopulation programs made the biggest strides.8

Today, the clamor to pass the bill comes from non-governmental organizations such as Likhaan and coalitions like the Reproductive Health Advocacy Network (RHAN). Though seemingly concerned with benevolent ends, their motivations remain suspect because of the monies they've received and continue to receive from these international organizations. In 2010 the Philippine government received $434M from the Millennium Challenge Corporation of America for a five-year ‘development’ contract. MCC is the new millennium's version of the old organizations; new name, same goals, same methods.

Let's take the International Planned Parenthood Federation for instance, whose country programmes are partnered with and get funding from MCC. While founder Margaret Sanger did not have abortion as her goal, the seeds of contraception that Planned Parenthood started from has blossomed since Roe v. Wade into a booming abortion business, currently making hundreds of millions of dollars a year, the majority of these dollars made on abortion alone.9

Since 1973 when abortion became legal, there have been 53,000,000 abortions in the United States.10 What does the IPPF want to achieve in the Philippines?

In the following timeline, we trace how the idea of contraception was born, and how it grew to its status now, a perceived quick fix as commonplace as the air we breathe. Its promotion and use around the world has resulted in an anti-life, contraceptive mentality, widespread acceptance of abortifacients, legalization of abortion and its use as the ultimate contraceptive, coercive family planning policies, divorce, the breakdown of the family, pornography, and an overall tolerance for promiscuity and immoral homosexual behavior, giving rise to more and more sexually-transmitted diseases.11

Science Facts on the RH Bill 2 (comments)

Condoms promote the spread of AIDS.

Will the use of condoms lower the rate of HIV/AIDS in a country? It will increase it, according to the “best studies”, concluded Harvard Director for AIDS Prevention, Edward C. Green. Availability of condoms makes people they take wilder sexual risks, thus worsening the spread of the disease. He showed that fidelity and abstinence are the best solutions to the AIDS epidemic. 8

The contraceptive lifestyle destroys the family.

Will the greater availability of contraception improve the conditions of families? Wide contraceptive use leads to more premarital sex, more fatherless children, more single mothers, more poverty, more abortions; and also a decline of marriage, less domesticated men, more crimes, more social pathology and poverty, according to the studies of Nobel prize winner, George Akerlof.9 Many other studies reached the same conclusion.

The RH Bills are based on wrong economics.

Is there a correlation between population growth and economic development? “No clear association” is the answer of Simon Kuznets, Nobel Prize winner in the science of economics.10 Many later studies confirmed this, including a 2003 study of the RAND Corporation, a world leader in research associated with 30 Nobel Prize winners.11

Is population control one of the ingredients for high economic growth and poverty reduction? No, population control is not among the five solutions or ingredients found by the 2008 Commission on Growth and Development headed by Nobel prize winner Michael Spence. The growth factors are: good governance, openness to knowledge, stable finances, market allocation, investment and savings.12 Our country loses 400 billion pesos to corruption every year.13

Help dispel ignorance of these science facts. Beware of the wealthy and powerful pro-RH lobby. Make copies and pass on to many, including our leaders. TODAY!

Science Facts on the RH Bill

Science Facts on the RH Bill

I hope a lot of people will get convinced of this article. The RH Bill is not a Catholic issue or a matter of economic policy. It is a moral issue that attacks the dignity of human life and threatens marriage and family life. It is not the solution to poverty. The Church has been accused time and again of being 'closed minded' and 'unyielding' on this issue. This time I challenge the RH Bill supporters to examine these scientific facts, be 'open minded', and refute the facts presented by the experts in an objective manner.

I invite everyone who wishes to know more about the pro-life cause to visit this blog.


Science Facts on the RH Bill

The world’s leading scientific experts resolve the issues on the Reproductive Health Bill, the forced distribution of birth control devices by all private employers and by the government using Filipino taxpayer’s money.


Artificial contraceptives kill children.

When does human life begin? At fertilization, when the sperm penetrates the egg. This was the “overwhelming agreement in countless scientific writings”, and of top experts (including scientists from Harvard Medical School and the Mayo Clinic) at an eight day hearing of the US Senate.1

Do birth control pills and the IUD kill the young human being? Yes, aside from preventing fertilization, the pill also works to kill a young human if ever a sperm gets to penetrate the egg, according to the scientific journal of the American Medical Association.2 The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology of 2005 pronounced that the intrauterine device brings about the “destruction of the early embryo.”3

Artificial contraceptives injure women’s health.

Is the pill safe? The International Agency for Research on Cancer in a 2007 study made by 21 scientists reported that the pill causes cancer, giving it the highest level of carcinogenicity, the same as cigarettes and asbestos.4 It also causes stroke,5 and significantly increases the risk of heart attacks.6 Several scientific journals have stated that the natural way of regulating births through the Billings Ovulation Method has no side-effects, and is 99.5 % effective.7

Condoms promote the spread of AIDS.

Will the use of condoms lower the rate of HIV/AIDS in a country? It will increase it, according to the “best studies”, concluded Harvard Director for AIDS Prevention, Edward C. Green. Availability of condoms makes people they take wilder sexual risks, thus worsening the spread of the disease. He showed that fidelity and abstinence are the best solutions to the AIDS epidemic. 8

The contraceptive lifestyle destroys the family.

Will the greater availability of contraception improve the conditions of families? Wide contraceptive use leads to more premarital sex, more fatherless children, more single mothers, more poverty, more abortions; and also a decline of marriage, less domesticated men, more crimes, more social pathology and poverty, according to the studies of Nobel prize winner, George Akerlof.9 Many other studies reached the same conclusion.

The RH Bills are based on wrong economics.

Is there a correlation between population growth and economic development? “No clear association” is the answer of Simon Kuznets, Nobel Prize winner in the science of economics.10 Many later studies confirmed this, including a 2003 study of the RAND Corporation, a world leader in research associated with 30 Nobel Prize winners.11

Is population control one of the ingredients for high economic growth and poverty reduction? No, population control is not among the five solutions or ingredients found by the 2008 Commission on Growth and Development headed by Nobel prize winner Michael Spence. The growth factors are: good governance, openness to knowledge, stable finances, market allocation, investment and savings.12 Our country loses 400 billion pesos to corruption every year.13

Help dispel ignorance of these science facts. Beware of the wealthy and powerful pro-RH lobby. Make copies and pass on to many, including our leaders. TODAY!


References

1 Subcommittee Report, S-158, 97th Congress, 1st Session 1981, 7.

2 Larimore and Stanford (2000). "Postfertilization effects of oral contraceptives and their relationship to informed consent" Arch Fam Med 9 (2): 126–33.

3 Stanford and Mikolajczyk (2005). "Mechanisms of action of intrauterine devices: Update and estimation of postfertilization effects". American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (W.B. Saunders Comp) 187: 1699–1708.

4 "Combined Estrogen-Progestogen Contraceptives" IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans 91. 2007.

5 Kemmeren, et al. (2002). "Risk of Arterial Thrombosis in Relation to Oral Contraceptives (RATIO) Study: Oral Contraceptives and the Risk of Ischemic Stroke". Stroke (American Heart Association, Inc.) 33: 1202–1208.

6 Baillargeon, McClish, Essah, and Nestler (2005). "Association between the Current Use of Low-Dose Oral Contraceptives and Cardiovascular Arterial Disease: A Meta-Analysis". Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (The Endocrine Society) 90 (7): 3863–3870.

7 British Medical Journal, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Lancet, Contraception, Fertility and Sterility.

8 Green (2003) Rethinking AIDS Prevention. Praeger.

9 Akerlof, Yellent and Katz (1996), "An Analysis on Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing in the United States", Quarterly Journal of Economics (The MIT Press) 111 (2): 277–317; Akerlof, “Men Without Children,” The Economic Journal 108 (1998)

10 Kuznets (1974) Population Capital and Growth, Norton.

11 Bloom, Canning, Sevilla, “The Demographic Dividend: A New Perspective on the Economic Consequences of Population Change,” RAND Corporation, 2003, 17.

12 The Growth Commission (2008) The Growth Report: Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development, World Bank Publication.

13 Studies of the Asian Development Bank and World Bank

LINK

Courage Philippines

RH Bill Buster (Part 1)


The talk on the controversial RH bill may have mellowed a bit but I am not letting up. I am ever determined to present the facts to everyone and let he who is in his right senses decide based on the FACTS, not on the myths.

Last night I was listening to the radio program 'Salitang Buhay' (Word Alive) by Fr. Bel San Luis, SVD, et.al. The program is aired every Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. over DZMM 630KHz. I had no idea about the topic to be discussed that night but it turned out to be on RH bill and with a very special guest (Dr. Ligaya Acosta). She was a former official of the Department of Health who spent 28 years in promoting artificial means of birth control and family planning. Guess what? She is now on the pro-life movement. Her personal testimony and interview was so powerful and interesting the radio program decided to invite her again next Sunday to speak more on the issue. Don't miss her out.


Misconceptions and Clarifications on Issues Related to Humanae Vitae
and the Reproductive "Health" Bill in Philippine Congress.

Rev. Fr. Gregory D. Gaston, STD

(This primer was written for Avenues, the Journal of San Carlos Seminary Graduate School of Theology. Copyright © 2008 by the author, a priest of the Archdiocese of Manila and Professor of the Graduate School of Theology of San Carlos Seminary in Makati City, Philippines. For related topics, please visit www.safe.ph.)

[Origin: M - misconception; C - clarification]

M#1: The world is overpopulated. Global population will soar to 11.9 billion by 2050.

C#1: "Yet this is not the full story. To the contrary, in fact. Across the globe, people are having fewer and fewer children. Fertility rates have dropped by half since 1972, from six children per woman to 2.9. And demographers say they're still falling, faster than ever. The world's population will continue to grow—from today's 6.4 billion to around 9 billion in 2050. But after that, it will go sharply into decline. Indeed, a phenomenon that we're destined to learn much more about—depopulation—has already begun in a number of countries. Welcome to the New Demography. It will change everything about our world, from the absolute size and power of nations to global economic growth to the quality of our lives." [Michael Meyer, "Birth Dearth," in Newsweek, September 27, 2004, p. 58. Since the 1970's, several demographers, economists, and other experts have been informing the public of these trends.]


M#2: Overpopulation is a scientific fact.

C#2: Not overpopulation, but population ageing and underpopulation, as seen in these sample article titles:

* European Pension Systems Set to Collapse. Low Fertility Blamed, in Friday Fax, May 4, 2000.
* Underpopulation, Not Overpopulation, the Real Global Problem, in Washington Post, March 18, 2001.
* Developed Nations Warned on Aging Crisis Time Bomb, in Manila Bulletin, Aug 30, 2001.
* Have Three Babies to Sustain the Population, in Daily Telegraph, Dec. 12, 2003.
* Asian Economies Desperate for Babies, in Daily News Express, Feb. 2, 2004.
* Have More Babies, Say the Tories, in Daily Mail, September 22, 2003: "Women should have more babies to stave off the looming crisis of an ageing population, the Tories will say today. The call to 'go forth and multiply' comes from work and pensions spokesman David Willetts, who wants couples to send birth rates soaring."
* In address to Estonians, President Calls on Citizens to Make More Babies, in New York Times, January 2, 2003: "Worried about a declining population, Estonia's president has urged the country's 1.4 million residents to make more babies. 'Let us remember that in just a couple of decades the number of Estonians seeing the New Year will be one-fifth less than today,' President Arnold Ruutel said in a speech broadcast live on national television Wednesday."


M#3: Our population growth rate of 2.04% is extremely high.

C#3: The CIA gives a much lower estimate of 1.728% (World Factbook Country Listing of 2008, available on the internet).


M#4: We should aim for a Zero Population Growth Rate.

C#4: Zero Population Growth Rate will make the Filipino race at first extremely old, and then rare, and finally extinct.


M#5: Filipino families have too many children.

C#5: "The UN Population Division figures indicate that it is not an exaggeration to say that as early as now the Philippine Total Fertility Rate [children per woman] is already dangerously low. Whereas in the early 1970's the average Filipina had six children, today she has around three, and in another 20 years, only two. Shortly after 2020, or just fifteen years from now, the Philippine TFR will sink below its replacement level of around 2.29." [Rev. Fr. Gregory D. Gaston, STD, World Population Collapse: Lessons for the Philippines, in Familia et Vita, vol. XII (2007) no. 2, pp. 84-113, paragraph no. 22. Henceforth referred to as WPC and paragraph number.]


M#6: Having two children should be the ideal family size.

From RH Bill SEC. 16. Ideal Family Size. – The State shall assist couples, parents and individuals to achieve their desired family size within the context of responsible parenthood for sustainable development and encourage them to have two children as the ideal family size.

C#6: As of now the Philippines' total fertility rate, or children per woman, is projected to go below replacement (2.29 children per woman) by 2025. After that we will experience the population ageing and collapse taking place today in rich countries, and like them, we will also wish to pay parents to have more children--but unlike them, we will have no money to do so.

Pushing for only two children per family will make all this occur even earlier.

(Note that two children per family would give a total fertility rate of much lower than two, since women without children would have to be included in the computation of "children per woman," or total fertility rate.)


M#7: Intensified population control programs will slow down population growth, improve the economy soon, and thus solve poverty.

C#7: "The effect desired by population controllers, the slowing of population growth, will not immediately take place, due to population momentum, decreased mortality and longer lifespan. By the time population growth will have slowed down, the Total Fertility Rate will be way below the replacement level, and the average population age will be extremely high. In other words, the solution proposed to solve poverty, that is, population control programs, will just create more economic difficulties in the long run.

Nor may one say that we should limit population growth now, hope for rapid economic development, and finally try to solve whatever problem might come up in the future. It will simply be too late by then. Countries that were already rich 30 to 40 years ago when their TFR's started to decline, and are now ageing, encounter extreme difficulty in solving their economic problems today. Their efforts to encourage their citizens to produce more children have not yielded acceptable results after a decade. They depend on immigration to maintain their population growth. The Philippines is not a rich country today, and may or may not be rich within 50 years.

How will it support its ageing population? Will it also invite workers from other countries to replace its dwindling workforce? How will it attract immigrants if it has no jobs to offer to its people in the first place? Even if it becomes rich by then, it will have to face the same problems rich countries face now, and will have to tell the people to raise more children. We simply cannot afford to fall into the trap rich countries have fallen into 30-40 years ago, and from which they desperately try to escape today. Graphically speaking, we cannot afford to have in the future a population pyramid like theirs now, and then, like them today, wish to regain the population pyramid we have now." [WPC 26]


M#8: In ruling out population control as a solution to poverty, the Catholic Church teaches that the people should beget as many children as they can, following God's command, to "go forth and multiply."

C#8: "'Ruling out population control' simply means not encouraging people to have few children, which is entirely different from telling them to have all the children they can possibly produce. Parents should instead be guided and supported to attain the number of children they can generously and responsibly raise and educate. For some spouses, this means having one child or two; for others, five, ten, twelve, fifteen or even more. Neither the government nor the Catholic Church may compel, instruct, or encourage spouses to raise a specified number of children, as what population control programs definitely try to do, either through massive propaganda, or through deceptive and coercive policies. Rather, the government and the Catholic Church should form and guide the people to reflect on their actual circumstances, and to freely, generously and responsibly decide whether to have another child now, or not to have another child for the time being or indefinitely. This is one aspect of responsible parenthood, which the Catholic Church has always taught, and which takes into account both the real capacities of individual spouses and the national demographic situation." [WPC 27]


M#9: The Catholic Church has always recognized the existence of a "population problem," and the government's intervention in the decision-making of spouses as to the number of children they beget.

C#9: In recognizing that it is legitimate for the state "to intervene to orient the demography of the population," it immediately adds that, "This can be done by means of objective and respectful information, but certainly not by authoritarian, coercive measures. The state may not legitimately usurp the initiative of spouses, who have the primary responsibility for the procreation and education of their children. In this area, it is not authorized to employ means contrary to the moral law" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2372).

Humanae Vitae (no. 2) describes some changes taking place in 1968. "In the first place there is the rapid increase in population which has made many fear that world population is going to grow faster than available resources, with the consequence that many families and developing countries would be faced with greater hardships."

Note that while Humanae Vitae in this point observes that there is the rapid increase in world population, it merely expresses the fear of many, without owning that fear, that world population is going to grow faster than available resources. Today, forty years later, we can see for a fact that while population has grown, food production has grown even more.

"Since 1965 to 1994 the population of the world has nearly doubled, but food production has kept well ahead... United Nations figures show there has been a rise of over 30% in the period 1951-92 in food production per capita, that is to say the amount of food which would be available to each person in the world if it were divided equally. This has occurred in spite of the fact that Western farmers are paid millions of dollars a year to keep land out of production. If these European and American farmers were to produce to their capacity, food prices would collapse as a result of the glut (Population Facts and Myths, published on the Internet in 1994 by the National Association of Catholic Families in the UK). The problem then is not food production but proper distribution. Hence the solution should not be to reduce the number of consumers, but social justice.

In recent years, Church documents have focused greatly on the fall of fertility, which, "very significant in almost all parts of the world, is irrefutable and evident from the facts published by specialized organizations. It is, nonetheless, frequently disregarded (Pontifical Council for the Family, The Ethical and Pastoral Dimensions of Population Trends, March 25, 1994). Such fall in fertility is the real "population problem" today.


M#10: The Catholic Church is not concerned with the plight of the poor in the country.

C#10: The Catholic Church dedicates a huge part of its efforts at the service of the poor, helping the government: education, microlending, presence in slum areas and garbage, orphanages, feeding programs, social action projects, calamities, opposition to destructive mining and destructive logging, Pondo ng Pinoy, Caritas, environmental ecology concerns, human ecology, family empowerment.

Whenever the Church talks against graft and corruption, she does so also out of concern for the poor. Poverty will be very quickly eradicated if graft and corruption are eradicated, so that taxpayers' money will go to the poor (especially in terms of education, which is the long-term solution to poverty, and livelihood programs) and not to those rich who steal from the poor.

"Each time poverty is blamed on the 'population problem,' its real and root causes are conveniently tolerated or covered up: graft and corruption in the public and private sectors, burden of foreign debt servicing, and bad governance, resulting in failed development programs" (A Manifesto of Filipino Families on July 25, 2008).

link

Thou Shalt Not Vote For….
Interesting moral perspective from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. They say it is morally unacceptable for anyone to support modern family planning in general and the Reproductive Health Bill in particular. They feel so strongly about this that they have even issued voting guidelines for the faithful. They discourage the Catholic flock from voting for anyone who supports reproductive health.
This afternoon I interiewed Fr. Melvin Castro, who heads the CBCP commission that drafted the guidelines and asked him why candidates who commit plunder and acts of corruption are not being condemned in the same way that reproductive health advocates are.
Castro said in effect that plunder and all of those corrupt acts are an offshoot of the lack of respect for the family and therefore not as bad in the heirarchy of catholic morality as family planning which is as he says, anti-family.
Flabbergasted, I asked if they were saying it was alright to vote for a crook as long as he doesn’t advocate modern family planning. His roundabout answer,—as I understand it is …in so many words–yes.
I grew up thinking that stealing money from the poor was worse than wearing a condom. I grew up thinking that betraying the responsibility given to you by the Filipino people as a public servant was worse than wearing an IUD or taking birth control pills. I believe that today.
I will not begrudge the Church for expressing its political views. In a democracy I think anyone has that right, even religious organizations. I even support the Church’s right to try to convince its followers to do vote in accordance with its doctrines.
But what I learned many years ago is that the Catholic Church’s ideas about morality are in irreconcilable contrast to mine.
I guess this means that I resign from the Catholic Church. This also leaves me free to watch James Cameron’s movie, Avatar, which was also condemned by the Vatican. Anyone else wanna see it?

Nakakatawa, bakit tayo uutusan ng church gumawa ng bagay na sinasabi nilang makakabuti satin kahit minsan parang hypocrite sila na may ginagawa silang masama pero dahil sila ang gumagawa noon, tama na?

15 Reasons why the RH Bill will not pass under PH’s 15th President

LINK

I will just highlight the points i learned from this article.


1. The RH Bill is an evil bill that violates most of the 10 commandments because it promotes greed (manifested in a contraceptive mentality, “more people leads to more poverty”) and lust (a safe and satisfying sex life without consequence). It will lead to the death of thousands of Filipino babies from abortifacient contraceptives and pave the way for abortion as in other countries that have adopted the RH bill. It dishonors our parents who chose life and conceived each of us and most of all, it disobeys the will of God whose infinite love to share His goodness led to the creation of life.

2. The RH Bill is based on wrong economics as proven by Nobel Prize laureates who have long debunked the Malthusian theory of population doom. There is no correlation between poverty and population. The Philippines is not densely populated but rather, economic activity has not been dispersed effectively. The poorest municipalities in the Philippines can be found in Mindanao, a sparsely populated island. On the other hand, Asian economic tigers are more densely populated than the Philippines but far more progressive due to their leadership and economic strategy.

3. The RH Bill is unsafe and unhealthy because birth control pills have proven to be carcinogenic and IUDs have punctured the walls in the uterus of female users. On the other hand, condoms are ineffective in protection against HIV-AIDS because their pinholes are larger than the size of the virus, so while it creates a false sense of security, it breeds a culture of sexual promiscuity that also leads to marital infidelity, separation and divorce, broken families, single parent children and social dysfunction.

4. The RH Bill will be counterproductive based on the crisis of depopulation being experienced by countries that have adopted an aggressive population control policy. They are now facing a demographic winter of aging and shrinking populations. No less than US President Bill Clinton said last year, “You have a large and young population that is a BOON,” while the founder of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew has publicly rued and regretted the aggressive population control policy they initiated.

5. The Church has been faithful and consistent in its teachings, and it has been successful in generating support to reject the RH Bill through a series of activities that culminated in a successful Prayer Rally last March 25th, on the solemnity of the Feast day of the Anunciation of our Lord Jesus Christ to the Blessed Virgin Mary by the Angel Gabriel. A senior police officer estimated the crowd to be at least 300,000 while Radio Veritas placed it at 500,000, based on past gatherings. This excludes the millions nationwide and around the world who were listening in to Radio Veritas. Most of all, none received compensation for their participation unlike other rallies.

6. Significantly, the March 25th Prayer Rally was Inter-Faith, including Filipino brethren from different religions and sects and featuring the marginalized sectors—the poor and the women, the young and the old, from all over the country and even around the world, all coming together to stand as one people, “United under God for life,” and altogether chanting, “Obey God’s will. Stop the RH bill!”

7. The media, too, has started to take notice and provide more print space and airtime to air the views of the Holy Mother the Church so all the people may be enlightened.

8. Increasingly more congressmen are choosing to be Pro-Life and Anti-RH Bill as they begin to fully understand the implications of the bill and the hidden agenda of its proponents, backed by anti-God governments and greedy pharmaceutical companies. Our congressmen are beginning to realize we don’t need more priests to become politicians; rather, we need our politicians to become priestly, striving for holiness.

9. Increasingly more Filipino citizens, the electorate, are choosing to be Pro-Life and Anti-RH Bill as they, too, learn more about the evils and errors of the RH Bill. They are also beginning to take heed of the exhortation of the Pope that parents are the primary educators of their children, so instead of sex education they are giving love education, guiding and leading their children, forming, directing and enlightening their conscience, infused by the 7 gifts and 12 fruits of God the Holy Spirit. In an ongoing survey on Facebook, at least 35% voted against the RH Bill, a spectacular 5-fold increase in a span of 5 months vs. the 7% reported by the SWS last November. Since most members of Facebook are the youth, it is highly probable that the number is significantly higher if we include the older and more conservative Filipinos.

10. The President’s advisers cannot and will not deny the groundswell from the people and the inspiration from God, speaking through their conscience to reject the Bill. They realize this can accelerate the downfall of the President whose popularity has been slipping because he will further lose the support of the Church and the grace of God. He will realize that all the natural calamities and man-made disasters are not just force majeure, but acts of God that serve the purpose of warning the Filipino people.

11. The President will honor his father and mother who chose life to conceive him, because he knows he won on the strength of Cory, a staunch pro-life advocate. He will honor the late Jaime Cardinal Sin who was pivotal in the success of EDSA 1 through People Power, who defied population control measures under former President Ramos, mustering over 1 million faithful to converge in Luneta in 1995.

12. He realizes that even if the late President Marcos was associated with the death of human rights activists and political opponents, nothing will compare with the millions of lives that will be destroyed by the RH Bill if it passes under him. He realizes that even if the disgraced President Estrada had lost his moral ascendancy and the administration of former President Arroyo was declared morally bankrupt, nothing can compare with the immorality that will choke the Filipino people if it passes under him. Not only babies will be lost, but Filipino souls will be lost to eternal damnation.

13. The President will realize his role is to become the Pastoral President who will lead his flock to the Promised Land, and that his electoral slogan “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” includes specially, the corruption of values due to the RH Bill. He will evolve this line into, “Kung walang suwapang, walang mahirap” and encourage the rich to help the poor while the poor will help themselves so that instead of Reproductive Health, we shall have Reproductive Wealth, where wealth begets more wealth through all forms of profit-sharing because workers who are part-owners are more productive. They will drive revenues, cut costs and conserve cash on their own without being told. He knows when the poor become rich, the rich become wealthy. He understands that poverty is not a health problem, but an economic one. In fact, he knows that poverty is not an economic issue, but at the core of it, it is a moral issue.

14. In honor of his father, the late Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., our martyr who died with a rosary, and who ennobled the Filipino with his immortal words, “The Filipino is worth dying for,” P-Noy can sanctify the Filipino with the words, “God is worth dying for.” He will even want to revise the Lupang Hinirang which currently has no mention of God as follows: “Aming ligaya na pag may mang-aapi, ang mamatay ng dahil sa Diyos,” thus transforming our National Anthem into our National Prayer.

15. Finally, while staying true to his inaugural speech at which he famously said, “Kayo ang boss ko,” he will affirm, “. . . nguni’t ang Diyos ang Boss nating lahat.” Here lies the core of P-Noy’s leadership philosophy, that “Leadership is Discipleship” which will inspire Filipinos to fulfill our mission as the light of the world, and “renew the face of the earth” as the world’s largest English-speaking Catholic country.

Note from the Editors: This article by Willie Arcilla is the Philippines’ Graphic’s way of following the principle of objectivity, context and the Filipino’s right to equal say on the issue of Reproductive Health. The writers of this magazine have spoken from both sides of the controversial fence, completing the circle of journalistic integrity.



I believe that the state and church should be separated because people get confused with what is right for the country, and what is right according to the church.

Animals mate only to breed

LINK

I was reading a book on the evolution of the human brain and then I stumbled upon the irony of the Filipino Catholic clergy’s position against contraceptives. They insist that the only function of sex is to make children. Whoa! That’s exactly what animals do! The savage beasts in the jungles mate only to breed. In the entire animal kingdom, human beings are one of the few species that mate for emotional reasons and long-term bonding. Sex for love and joy, it turns out, is uniquely human, and our local venerables would insist that we forswear what is human and revert to what is primitively animalistic.

I don't believe that the only purpose of sex is producing kids, why would people then produce contraceptives like condoms or pills to stop it. TODAY, the purpose of having sex is either to PRODUCE or HAVE FUN. i have to admit, there are a lot of people today who wouldn't want to have kids but would love to have SEX. there's this thrilling things for kids today when it comes to SEX. it's like the WORD SEX is an equivalent to fun.

In contrast, humans have sex “even during the wrong part of the ovulatory cycle” when conception is unlikely to occur. This is because of “concealed ovulation [wherein] it is almost impossible for a male to detect directly” when the female is in estrus. Since the male is left guessing, he would have to mate all through the woman’s cycle to have a reasonable chance of sowing his sire. “[W]ith concealed ovulation, the best male strategy is to stick to one female and mate with her all the time.”

Those who have sex do not care anymore when to have sex. Sometimes, people do not care WHERE to have sex. Like during the new year, a lot of people were having sex everywhere, even in BORACAY where the media was so excited to show people that there are people having sex in the beach during the new year!

Pacquiao joins TV debate on RH Bill

Here's the LINK

World's top pound-for-pound boxer and Saranggani Representative Manny Pacquiao joined GMA News TV's "RH Bill: The Grand Debate" which airs on Sunday, May 22.
A staunch critic of the Reproductive Health Bill, Pacquiao stated that corruption is the main problem of the country. "Sana piliin natin yung hindi labag sa utos ng Panginoon. Walang sinabi kung ilan lang dapat ang anak. Ang solusyon sa problema ay sugpuin ang kurapsyon at magkaisa tayong lahat," Pacquiao said during the show's taping at GMA Network studios on Tuesday, May 17.
"Sa ngayon pa lang, wala pa iyong RH Bill, gumagamit na iyong ibang tao ng condom o pills," Pacquiao added.
A devout Catholic just like his mother Dionesia, Pacquiao reiterated that families should be God-centric. "I-educate ang mga tao (on family planning) na hindi naman labag sa Panginoon. Piliin natin ang kautusan ng Diyos, hindi ang kautusan ng tao," Pacquiao said in the debate.
Last Wednesday, May 18, Pacquiao participated in the interpellation of the RH Bill in Congress, wherein he stated that the government should instead focus on laws that will fight poverty. "Bakit hindi na lang tayo gumawa ng batas na siyang magiging kasagutan sa kahirapan n gating bansa? Sa dami natin dito sa Kongreso ay maaaring mahanap natin ang kasagutan sa problemang ito hindi tulad ng RH Bill na sa aking pananaw ay masyadong divisive," Pacquiao said.
House Bill No. 4244 or more popularly known as Reproductive Health Bill aims to provide universal access to reproductive health care services, methods, supplies and information. Hosted and moderated by news anchor Mel Tiangco and co-hosted by Pia Arcanghel and RJ Ledesma, the "RH Bill: The Grand Debate" aims to educate and shed light on the issue, clear misconceptions and provoke critical thinking among the viewers about the RH Bill.
The debate's main argument is "Are you for or against the controversial House Bill No. 4244 also known as the Reproductive Health Bill?" Three arguments were discussed by the debaters: Is the RH Bill moral or immoral; is the RH Bill for the good/not for the good of women; and will the RH Bill help solve/not solve poverty in the country? An interpellation follows after each debater presents his or her side.
Representatives from religious, academic, women and government sectors joined the debate. Iloilo Representative Janet Garin led the debate from the pro-RH Bill side against Zambales Representative Mitos Magsaysay on the issue of poverty. This was followed by the debate between Bishop Efraim Tendero of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, who is a supporter of the bill, and Bishop Ted Bacani on the issue of morality. Showbiz mom Pia Arroyo-Magalona also took part in the debate on the issue of women's welfare against professor Aliza Racelis, who opposes the bill. Pro-RH Bill interpellators include Carlos Celdran, Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel and Dr. Sylvia Claudio. For the anti-RH Bill side, Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez, Dean Antonio Torralba and Dr. Deane Campo-Cruz were the interpellators.
The "RH Bill: The Grand Debate" airs on Sunday, May 22 at 8:45 PM on GMA News TV.

sometimes I believe that politicians are using the RH Bill for publicity, and it's so wrong. This is wrong. If they really want something to change in the philippines then they should fight for the right changes. Poverty is a big thing, and many other topics are linked to it. Isn't population growth a problem too?

Sharing : Teenage pregnancy

I read this story about teenage pregnancy and I want to share it to those who are reading my posts..

I got it here..

almost twenty years ago i was a lonely 16 yr old teen mum. my parents had a violent relationship and later divorced, i had spent those eight years of my life away from my parents, at parties and with friends. although my parent hated eachother, they made sure me and my brother were sent to the best private schools as they wanted the absolute best for us.

while at school i was shy and quiet until i met my best friend elise. we did everything together. i couldnt live without her, she was like family.
in my eleventh year at school i went to a party and thats when i ment jayden. he was sweet and charming, and we went out four weeks until we had sex, i was on the pill so i thought nothing would happen.oh but i was SO wrong. later after morning sicknesses and dizziness elise got me a pregnancy test and i found out i was pregnant. i told my parents first as jayden was away on hiliday i think? my parents took it horribly and kicked me out. i lived with elise for two weeks, until i told jayden.

when i told jayden he refused and said i must have cheated on him and i was lying and that i was a horrible person. i was crushed, i hoped he would be around when the baby was born as im christian and dont believe in abortion.

my uncle and aunty took me in, they were both police and already had two younger children lilly and eamon (buddy).they were lovely and so nice and understanding, although they believed i should take care of the baby myself and find my own feet in the world if i was to be a mother, they also made me continue my schooling.

i had to move schools because of distance, i made a few close friends i still have today, but i stayed until i was 35 weeks and i went into labour in maths class, how exciting :/
eventually after a 47 hour labour i gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, kai logan kennedy. i wanted him to keep his biological fathers last name. i had to make many phone calls to get jayden, who never contacted me through my pregnancy to come and sign the certificate. after jayden saw kai he imediately wanted to be in his life, but two months after the excitement of a new baby wore off and he stopped calling and seeing me and the baby. elise helped me so much during my pregnancy and even when kai was born, it was soo hard lookiing after kai and finishing schooling but i did it!

a year after i graduated, my aunty and uncle were iinvolved in a fatal car crash and died so we lost the house and were in debt for their funeral too, i had to look after lilly and eamon who were destraught and so was i, on top of the grief i had no where to live, and i gained custody of their two young kids, lilly and buddy. all of this while i was at uni, it was becomming to much. but after going through many rental homes, job after low paying job and having to live at a homeless shelter for a month all four of us made it after the four years at uni, i was now a nurse working at st john of god and earning quite a large wage for the time, so i could put all my children in school which was lucky.

i saved up enough for substantial house, which took quite a while, in the process of buying a house i ran into a guy from my old private school that i had a crush on then and now, we went out for two years bought a house together and later married. he was so accepting of lilly buddy and my beautiful boy kai, all get along wonderfully he admires us for pulling through and we all love him, and weve all since took his last name, although lilly and buddy kept their last name in rememberance of their parents.

im now a full time nurse and still paying back 20 years worth of bills jayden had linked to my bank account from our son (its complicated) so we hope to take him to court to wipe the bills and fees. im so proud of my son though as hes just turned 20 and has almost finnished training to be a pilot in the royal air force. hes not engaged yet as he wants a family a little bit later and for that im thankful! hes never really asked about his biological father but knows his past. im so pround of him and lilly, whos 26 and is a fully registered vetinarian who has her own clinic and buddy (whos full name is eamon, 24) has just been married with a baby on the way and is an architect in america im so proud of them and i wouldnt change anything. throughout all the years my mother has not contacted me once and i dont know where she is or what shes doing, although my dad contacted me almost twenty years after and we've slowly been building our relationship again. he says hes proud of what ive become and he loves kai and lilly and buddy.

for all those single mothers out there, you should know that the support of your family and friends is great and helpful but it doesnt make you any less of a woman to abort either, to have a second chance at adulthood.

Amelie


My friends have experienced being left by the guy after her pregnant so I believe that people who want to have sex should know the in and outs of it.

Ang RH BILL SA PILIPINAS

Para sa akin dapat maipatupad ito dahil hindi tanga ang mga bata ngayon sa pilipinas. Ako’y nag aral sa eskuwelahan na pang babae lamang at masasabi kong nasa grade 6 palang ako ay madami na akong alam. Lumaki ako sa pamilyang hindi kumpleto at nakakalungkot man sabihin, hinanap ko sa ibang tao ang pagiging bilang sa isang pamilya. Nagkaroon ako ng boyfriend nung nasa second year ako, okay naman kame. Nung mag iisang taon na kameng dalawa, nalaman ko na nabuntis niya ang kaibigan ko. Nakakagulat, pero namulat ako sa katotohanan na parang nasa ibang bansa lang din tayo. Makikita natin sa mga palabas na may mga taong nabubuntis, may mga taong naiinlove at may mga taong naging tanga lang at dahil sa pag ibig ay ibibigay ang lahat. Natutuwa ako sa sarili ko dahil hindi ko hinayaang mangyari sa akin yun. Nakakalungkot na ilan din sa mga kaibigan ko ay may mga anak na, madami sa batch ko ang bata pa lang ay nag aalaga na ng bata. Meron pang 16 years old lang ay may 2 taong gulang na anak na. Hindi ko sasabihin kung sino sila, pero bilib ako, nagawa nilang akuin ang responsibilidad na hindi kaya gawin ng madaming matatanda ngayon. Pero para sa akin,dapat naiwasan nila iyon dahil masisira lang ang kinabukasan nila. Madaming paraan para lumigaya, at hindi iyon sa pakikipag talik o pakikipag landian sa kahit sinong mag bibigay ng attention sayo. Naalala ko, nung ako ay nasa high school pa lang, hindi ko maiwasang matuwa pag may lalake na nagbibigay ng atensyon sa akin. Hindi kasi ako napapansin sa bahay namin at malungkot ako dahil wala akong mga magulang. Kasama ko lang ang mga kapatid kong babae at ang lola kong napaka busy sa mga trabaho niya. Siguro kung natuloy lang ang RH bill noon pa, matuturuan ang mga kaibigan ko tungkol sa problemang maiibibigay ng pagbubuntis at pagkakaroon ng anak. Iilan lang kasi sa kanila ang sinamahan ng mga ama ng bata hanggang ngayon. Sinabi nila sakin na mahirap mabuntis lalo na kung bata ka pa lang, makikita mo sa mga tingin ng tao kung ano ang iniisip nila at hindi nila maiiwasang pag usapan ka at tignan ka ng masama. Malungkot daw mabuntis dahil minsan di moa lam kung bakit ka naiiyak. Minsan, madami kang hahanapin at pag hindi mo ito nakuha ay malunlungkot ka lang. sabi nila, kung maibabalik lang nila ang oras, hindi nila iyon gagawin. Hindi daw kasi tama. Hindi rin nila alam na mangyayari iyon. Kung maaga lang sila nasabihan at kung nabuksan lang ang topic na ito, edi sana hindi gaano karami ang mga bata o teenager ang may mga anak. Hindi rin kasi natin masasabi na dahil mahirap ang tao ay wala siyang alam sa mga ganitong bagay, may kaya ang mga kaibigan ko at masasabi kong sa edad na wala pang bente, mahigit sampu na ang kilala kong may anak na sa ngayon. At malamang sasabihin nilang masaya sila. Pero daw, kung maibabalik lang ang oras ay sana hindi iyon nagawa.

The Birth Control Pill

The Birth Control Pill

What Is It?
The birth control pill (also called "the Pill") is a daily pill that contains hormones to change the way the body works and prevent pregnancy. Hormones are chemical substances that control the functioning of the body's organs. In this case, the hormones in the Pill control the ovaries and the uterus.
How Does It Work?
Most birth control pills are "combination pills" containing a combination of the hormones estrogen and progesterone to prevent ovulation (the release of an egg during the monthly cycle). A woman cannot get pregnant if she doesn't ovulate because there is no egg to be fertilized. The Pill also works by thickening the mucus around the cervix, which makes it difficult for sperm to enter the uterus and reach any eggs that may have been released. The hormones in the Pill can also sometimes affect the lining of the uterus, making it difficult for an egg to attach to the wall of the uterus.
Most combination pills come in either a 21-day pack or a 28-day pack. One hormone pill is taken each day at about the same time for 21 days. Depending on your pack, you will either stop taking birth control pills for 7 days (as in the 21-day pack) or you will take a pill that contains no hormones for 7 days (the 28-day pack). A woman has her period when she stops taking the pills that contain hormones. Some women prefer the 28-day pack because it helps them stay in the habit of taking a pill every day.
There is also a type of combination pill that decreases the frequency of a woman's period by supplying a hormone pill for 12 weeks and then inactive pills for 7 days. This decreases the number of periods to one every 3 months instead of one every month.
Another kind of pill that may change the number of monthly periods is the low-dose progesterone pill, sometimes called the mini-pill. This type of birth control pill differs from the other pills in that it only contains one type of hormone — progesterone — rather than a combination of estrogen and progesterone. It works by changing the cervical mucus and the lining of the uterus, and sometimes by affecting ovulation as well. The mini-pill may be slightly less effective at preventing pregnancy than combination pills.
The mini-pill is taken every day without a break. A girl who is taking the mini-pill may have no period at all or she may have irregular periods. For the minipill to work, it must be taken at the same time every day, without missing any doses.
Any type of birth control pill works best when it is taken every single day at the same time of day, regardless of whether a girl is going to have sex. This is especially important with progesterone-only pills.
For the first 7 days of taking the Pill, a girl should use an additional form of contraception, such as condoms, to prevent pregnancy. After 7 days, the Pill should work alone to prevent pregnancy. But continuing to use condoms will protect againstsexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
If pills are skipped or forgotten, a girl is not protected against pregnancy and she will need a backup form of birth control, such as condoms. Or she will need to stop having sex for a while. Do not take a friend's or relative's pills.

http://kidshealth.org/teen/sexual_health/contraception/contraception_birth.html

Effects of the Bill to me

A lot of people have been arguing about the RH bill issue and it’s not fun for me. Even at home my sisters and my grandmother talk about it, and they told me I shouldn’t be insensitive to this topic because this is affecting the society. I hear people talking about this issue in the radio, or the television or wherever people can talk about this, I really wouldn’t mind people talking about it, but what happened is that people are exaggerating the topic so much that many other things come out of this topic. I know it is not simple and it should not be disregarded, but what I do not like about this topic is that people look like they just want attention. Even those people who do not know anything about the topic would be interviewed and they would give their opinions, also, the church and the government should be separated. I am not against the church but then they are saying too much. If the country needs the bill, then why not give it a try? It is not saying that the country would kill to survive. The bill is not even forcing the people to do what is stated in the bill. It is not mandatory-not required-not obligatory.
Then the sex education topic would go out and then more comments will be posted and talked about. Is sex education the only thing that is bad in this country? There are many children working for their parents, isn’t that bad? In the case of contraceptives, a lot of contraceptives can be bought here in the Philippines and authorities don’t imprison them, and if it was so bad why would people want to get some? If it would be allowed then people wouldn’t have to do bad things anymore because it would be legal to buy these drugs.
There are a lot of topics to be considered when it comes to the RH bill and it’s actually exciting to see some of our politicians working, what else would they do if they don’t debate with other people right?

RH Bill No. 5043 Section 3 Part 2

RH Bill No. 5043 Section 3 Part 2

“The State shall promote programs that: (1) enable couples, individuals and women to have the number and spacing of children and reproductive spacing they desire with due consideration to the health of women and resources available to them; (2) achieve equitable allocation and utilization of resources; (3) ensure effective partnership among the national government, local government units and the private sector in the design, implementation, coordination, integration, monitoring and evaluation of people-centered programs to enhance quality of life and environmental protection; (4) conduct studies to analyze demographic trends towards sustainable human development and (5) conduct scientific studies to determine safety and efficacy of alternative medicines and methods for reproductive health care development;”

The church may not agree to this because this part will include the allowance of the state to have artificial means of bringing a child in the world. I may say that they should adopt if they want to because there are plenty of children who are left in the streets or just anywhere, but this will go back to the overpopulation problem in the Philippines. So I would say that I would agree to the artificial ways of having children because I'd rather take care of my own that take care of children who aren't mine. i know I should pity them, but it's not my fault why they were left, their parents should be the one to take care of them. If couples will be educated, then there will be less people who will be on the streets.

RH Bill No. 5043 Section 3

SEC. 3. Guiding Principles. – This Act declares the following as basic guiding principles:

a. In the promotion of reproductive health, there should be no bias for either modern or natural methods of family planning;

b. Reproductive health goes beyond a demographic target because it is principally about health and rights;

c. Gender equality and women empowerment are central elements of reproductive health and population development;

d. Since manpower is the principal asset of every country, effective reproductive health care services must be given primacy to ensure the birth and care of healthy children and to promote responsible parenting;

e. The limited resources of the country cannot be suffered to, be spread so thinly to service a burgeoning multitude that makes the allocations grossly inadequate and effectively meaningless;

f. Freedom of informed choice, which is central to the exercise of any right, must be fully guaranteed by the State like the right itself;

g. While the number and spacing of children are left to the sound judgment of parents and couples based on their personal conviction and religious beliefs, such concerned parents and couples, including unmarried individuals, should be afforded free and full access to relevant, adequate and correct information on reproductive health and human sexuality and should be guided by qualified State workers and professional private practitioners;

h. Reproductive health, including the promotion of breastfeeding, must be the joint concern of the National Government and Local Government Units(LGUs);

i. Protection and promotion of gender equality, women empowerment and human rights, including reproductive health rights, are imperative;

j. Development is a multi-faceted process that calls for the coordination and integration of policies, plans, programs and projects that seek to uplift the quality of life of the people, more particularly the poor, the needy and the marginalized;

k. Active participation by and thorough consultation with concerned non-government organizations (NGOs), people’s organizations (POs) and communities are imperative to ensure that basic policies, plans, programs and projects address the priority needs of stakeholders;

l. Respect for, protection and fulfillment of reproductive health rights seek to promote not only the rights and welfare of adult individuals and couples but those of adolescents’ and children’s as well; and

m. While nothing in this Act changes the law on abortion, as abortion remains a crime and is punishable, the government shall ensure that women seeking care for post-abortion complications shall be treated and counseled in a humane, non-judgmental and compassionate manner.

My opinion and understanding.
*There will be a freedom of choice given by the state to exercise the bill.
*The bill will protect the people from ages 11 to adult.
*Maternal Health will be discussed in the educating part of the bill and safe delivery will be promoted in the country. The education will include the right of the person to achieve full human development and responsible parenting will be taught to mothers.
*The services for reproductive health will be more accessible to people and supplies and services will be effective and affordable for the promotion of the people’s right to health.
*All the methods will be taught, may it be the natural planning or the modern way of planning the family.

Family planning as defined does not include artificial reproduction (which is inconsistent with the definition of reproductive health) but does include potential embryocides. Were abortion legalized, the state would be obliged to provide access to it.

The obligation noted in (f) requires the State to promote childbearing by single people and unmarried couples, a practice that some people find morally objectionable. Consistent with the definition of reproductive health, this subsection also implies the obligation to provide artificial reproductive services.

http://www.consciencelaws.org