I am a catholic. I am a health-care provider. I AM PRO RH-BILL.
and i guess it's time for me to tackle my stand on RH-Bill issue. based on the knowledge i acquired in my profession and in the belief of my religion where i was raised to, i am not surprised that I've chosen to go pro.
Humane Vitae, Contraceptives, and Abortion
Opposition points out that the bill is not pro-life. the use of contraceptives prevent the possibility of procreation as what the doctrine of humane vitae implies. abortion is the expulsion of embryo/fetal material at a stage of pregnancy when it is incapable of independent survival. life starts once the zygote (as what they imply) is fertilized for it shows the presence of biological life. some contraceptives prevents the attachment of the embryo to the uterus leading to expulsion.
My Stand: yes, you may say that the bill is not absolutely pro-life because of the introduction of contraceptives "which you think causes abortion", but it doesn't necessarily mean that it's purely anti-life. we must not forget that the bill prioritizes and gives importance, not only to the children but also to women who's lives could be endangered in the instances of risky pregnancies. choosing to protect and promote women's lives, i guess, won't make me a supporter of anti-life campaign. besides, prior the existence of the bill, there's already therapeutic abortion that is being practiced in the medical field. one chooses to abort the pregnancy in order to save one's life. how come that the church never acted on that? the bill doesn't solely focus on enforcing/requiring the use of contraceptives. the bill aims to EMPOWER the people with knowledge they MUST have regarding reproductive health, the OPTIONS available for them when it comes to contraceptives WITHOUT removing their freedom to make a CHOICE.
Morality, Sex, Education, Religion
Monsignor Cuizon, chancellor of the archdiocese of davao and also a parish priest of sta. ana. church, stated that morally licit sexual act involves procreative and uniting elements, and the use of artificial contraception eliminates the possibility of procreative element. the sexual intercourse would just be like for the human satisfaction and pleasure.
for the catholic church there is no other compromise for the natural method of contraception therefore, no culture of promiscuity. the RH bill should neither be used to justify the use of condoms. cuizon said that neither will the use of condoms help reduce the high incidence of HIV/AIDS cases. "if you're an HIV positive, them it means you can only abstain from having sex. because you know you are sick there should be value and sacrifice"
My Stand: the meaning of sex is whatever meaning the two people involved give to it. it can be more than a physical act or it can be a loving response. the church requires responsibility upon engaging into sexual intercourse. it's like you have no right to love unless you're responsible for a family. let us admit it. the generation today grew a lot more liberated than the old times. sex has been a part of intimate relationships prior marriage. and education is tantamount to better future. contraceptives such as condoms may not decrease the number of reported STDs, but it may stop/lessen its spread. IT'S NOT ALL THE TIME PEOPLE WOULD KNOW THEY'RE ALREADY INFECTED WITH HIV FOR THEM TO ABSTAIN. providing easy access to information about sex education, reproductive health, and STDs is better than not doing anything at all. yes, we're sad that the generation lives in a culture of promiscuity, but OPENING our eyes to the PRESENT SEXUAL HEATH STATUS and acting upon it would SAVE so much lives than spending our time scaring each other that our souls would be sent to eternal flames of hell.
Population, Poverty, Family Planning and the Government
Opposition do not bite the idea of using overpopulation as one reason to pass the bill. there are several studies showing the issue isn't overpopulation but the lack of distribution of wealth. they do believe that overpopulation is wrongly connected with poverty when the real admitted cause is corruption.
funding such bill is just a waste of taxpayers money. why not use it to create public schools, government hospitals and other infrastructures? other people would prefer to be funded to go to school than to receive a pack of contraceptives.
My Stand: it is given that some of the country's officials are corrupt and greedy enough that the wealth distribution and allocation of funds are compromised. but the concentration of the people living in the urban areas are undoubtedly factual. we can't just watch the government to drain all the rotten officials and wait for it (government) to act upon us and do something to alleviate our substandard living. it would be better if we start planning for ourselves and for our family while the government do their "cleaning". reassess our ability to provide better future for our family with the amount of income we have. help the government to help you. yes they could provide free education, but the Filipino family could control the number of kids to be sent to school. they could provide foods but the Filipino family could control the number of mouths they're going to feed. do not ask what the country can do for you. ask what you can do for your country. family planning has already been a part of this growing society ever since. my parents did it and so can others. with the help of RH bill, i believe that more families would be ENLIGHTENED. if those anti-rh keep on pushing that the bill is just a waste of tax-payer's money, then let the nurses out there do the work. health teachings have been a part of our profession. with or without funds, our knowledge and skills in motivating and teaching people can move mountains farther than you can imagine.
Labels: current issues, reactions