The Catholic Church leadership and other "pro-life" groups are up in arms over President Benigno Aquino III's stand on reproductive health - he said that it was up to couples what kind of birth control method they wanted to use - and have threatened to hold rallies and other protest actions unless Aquino changes his mind about the issue. They have even gone so far as to threaten civil disobedience should the recently refiled Reproductive Health (RH) bill become law.
Time and time again, these groups have blocked the implementation of a proper population management policy in the country despite public support for such a policy. Just last year the Reproductive Health bill barely made it to the House floor. It was ultimately shelved mainly due to pressure from the Catholic Church, which considered it the "legalization of abortion" and thus damaging to the country's morality, and a lack of support from then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
President Aquino is the first president in a very long time to actually be in favor of responsible and informed choice when it comes to family planning. His support could do much to finally get the RH bill out of Congress and into Malacanang to be signed into law. That is, if he isn't swayed by the bishops into changing his opinion on the matter. It would be hard for the Church to do so, given the support the President is getting for his stand from both the House of Representatives and the Senate. However, history shows that the Church is adamant about having its way when it comes to the population issue, and will stop at nothing to derail any effort by the government to do anything that goes against the Church's views on population and family planning.
The Catholic Church maintains that the only morally acceptable way of planning a family is to use natural family planning methods or to abstain from sex altogether. The Church also downplays the effect of a large and rapidly growing population on poverty, instead putting the blame on corruption and ineffective government action. For the Church, 100 million Filipinos sharing an archipelago of 7,100 islands is not a problem but a blessing; that those 100 million are being packed tighter and forced to compete for scarce resources while more and more people come in is is something the good bishops gloss over and lay at the feet of the State.
That many Filipinos see the need for and want a reproductive health policy to manage the country's growing population is another thing the Church turns a deaf ear to. In the past, survey after survey showed popular support for the RH bill and its forerunners, and still the Church stuck to its line and pressured legislators to block passage of the bill. How the Church can be against providing proper reproductive health education, the promotion of free and responsible choice, and government-provided reproductive health services - three things which could curb the rising incidence of abortions and dumped fetuses in the country - is a dark area which this writer would rather not speculate on at this time.
President Aquino has expressed his willingness to talk to the Church and explain his side, but in this writer's opinion that would only be a futile exercise. The Church will only listen to and agree with those who will follow its teachings on the population issue. It is obvious that there can be no compromise when Church leaders call contraception a sin and vow to support any action against the passage of any measure that includes artificial family planning methods. There can be no debate or discussion with these people. Any dialogue will be fruitless and pointless.
What can President Aquino accomplish by talking with the leaders of the Catholic Church? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. They did not listen before, and they will not listen now. They turned a deaf ear to the very people they claimed to protect from immorality and the fires of hell, in the process relegating many of them to a life of hell on Earth.
This writer hopes that President Aquino returns the favor on behalf of his constituents - the Filipino people who gave him his mandate in the last election - and turns a deaf ear to the cries of those who would rather see the country remain stuck in the Dark Ages and mired in poverty than have it move one more step forward into the 21st century.
Time and time again, these groups have blocked the implementation of a proper population management policy in the country despite public support for such a policy. Just last year the Reproductive Health bill barely made it to the House floor. It was ultimately shelved mainly due to pressure from the Catholic Church, which considered it the "legalization of abortion" and thus damaging to the country's morality, and a lack of support from then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
President Aquino is the first president in a very long time to actually be in favor of responsible and informed choice when it comes to family planning. His support could do much to finally get the RH bill out of Congress and into Malacanang to be signed into law. That is, if he isn't swayed by the bishops into changing his opinion on the matter. It would be hard for the Church to do so, given the support the President is getting for his stand from both the House of Representatives and the Senate. However, history shows that the Church is adamant about having its way when it comes to the population issue, and will stop at nothing to derail any effort by the government to do anything that goes against the Church's views on population and family planning.
The Catholic Church maintains that the only morally acceptable way of planning a family is to use natural family planning methods or to abstain from sex altogether. The Church also downplays the effect of a large and rapidly growing population on poverty, instead putting the blame on corruption and ineffective government action. For the Church, 100 million Filipinos sharing an archipelago of 7,100 islands is not a problem but a blessing; that those 100 million are being packed tighter and forced to compete for scarce resources while more and more people come in is is something the good bishops gloss over and lay at the feet of the State.
That many Filipinos see the need for and want a reproductive health policy to manage the country's growing population is another thing the Church turns a deaf ear to. In the past, survey after survey showed popular support for the RH bill and its forerunners, and still the Church stuck to its line and pressured legislators to block passage of the bill. How the Church can be against providing proper reproductive health education, the promotion of free and responsible choice, and government-provided reproductive health services - three things which could curb the rising incidence of abortions and dumped fetuses in the country - is a dark area which this writer would rather not speculate on at this time.
President Aquino has expressed his willingness to talk to the Church and explain his side, but in this writer's opinion that would only be a futile exercise. The Church will only listen to and agree with those who will follow its teachings on the population issue. It is obvious that there can be no compromise when Church leaders call contraception a sin and vow to support any action against the passage of any measure that includes artificial family planning methods. There can be no debate or discussion with these people. Any dialogue will be fruitless and pointless.
What can President Aquino accomplish by talking with the leaders of the Catholic Church? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. They did not listen before, and they will not listen now. They turned a deaf ear to the very people they claimed to protect from immorality and the fires of hell, in the process relegating many of them to a life of hell on Earth.
This writer hopes that President Aquino returns the favor on behalf of his constituents - the Filipino people who gave him his mandate in the last election - and turns a deaf ear to the cries of those who would rather see the country remain stuck in the Dark Ages and mired in poverty than have it move one more step forward into the 21st century.
