Final Thesis RH Bill

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CHAPTER 1
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Introduction
As said in the position paper of the Honorable Representative V. Dennis Socrates of the
2nd District of the province of Palawan entitled The Sanctity of Family and Life: Natural Law
and Thinking in the Constitution, every age in the history of civilization may be roughly
characterized by the peculiar ideological conflict which divided peoples in its time. While there
are historical moments of relative peace, there rises a conflict dividing the opinions of the people
in almost every century.
HB 04244: Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill
HB 04244, also known as AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A COMPREHENSIVE POLICY ON
RESPONSIBLE PARENTHOOD, REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, AND POPULATION
DEVELOPMENT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, was the resulting bill after consolidating
five (5) related bills, namely: HB 00096, as introduced by Representative Edcel Lagman,
entitled: AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A NATIONAL POLICY ON REPRODUCTIVE
HEALTH, RESPONSIBLE PARENTHOOD AND POPULATION DEVELOPMENT, AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES; HB 00101, as introduced by Representative Janette Garin, entitled:
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A NATIONAL POLICY ON REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND
POPULATION DEVELOPMENT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES; HB 00513, as introduced
by Representatives Kaka Bag-ao and Walden Bello, entitled: AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A
NATIONAL POLICY ON REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND POPULATION

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DEVELOPMENT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES; HB 01160, as introduced by
Representative Rodolfo Biazon, entitled: AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A NATIONAL POLICY
ON REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES; HB 01520, as introduced
by Representative Augusto Syjuco, entitled: AN ACT TO PROTECT THE RIGHT OF THE
PEOPLE TO INFORMATION ON REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHCARE; and HB 03387, as
introduced by Representatives Luzviminda Ilagan and Emerenciana De Jesus, entitled: AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR A NATIONAL POLICY ON REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH FOR WOMEN IN
DEVELOPMENT AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
In section 2 of the bill entitled Declaration of Policy, the sponsors lay the three policy
foundations of the bill, namely:
1. The State recognizes and guarantees the exercise of the universal basic human right to
reproductive health by all persons, particularly of parents, couples and women,
consistent with their religious convictions, and cultural beliefs and the demands of
responsible parenthood;
2. The State recognizes and guarantees the promotion of gender equality, equity and
womens empowerment as a health and human rights concern; and
3. The State guarantees universal access to medically safe, legal, affordable, effective, and
quality reproductive health services, methods, devices, supplies and relevant information
and education thereon.
In section 3 of the bill entitled Guiding Principles, the sponsors lay the framework of the bill,
namely:
1. Freedom of choice;
2. Repect for, protection and fulfillment of reproductive health and rights seek to promote
the rights and welfare of couples, adult individuals, women, and adolescents;
3. Effective reproductive healthcare with the end of maternal health, safe delivery of healthy
children and their full human development, and responsible parenting;
4. Promotion of all effective natural and modern methods of family planning that are
medically safe and legal;
5. Right to health of the poor and marginalized by providing of medically safe, legal,
accessible, affordable and effective reproductive health care services and supplies;
6. Promotion of programs that enable couples, individuals, and women to have have the
number of children and reproductive spacing they desire , of programs that achieve
equitable allocation and utilization of resources, of programs that ensure effective
partnership of the national and local government, and the private sector in the design,
implementation, coordination, integration, monitoring, and evaluation of people-centered
programs to enhance quality of life, of programs that conduct studies to analyze
demographic trends towards sustainable human development, and of programs that
conduct scientific studies to determine safety and efficacy of alternative medicines and
methods of reproductive health care development;
7. The shared role of the national and local government units in providing reproductive
health information, care, and supplies;

8. Promotion of active participation by non-government organizations and communities in
the development of reproductive health policies that respond to the needs of the poor,
especially the women;
9. The humane, non-judgmental, and compassionate treatment and counseling of women
needing care for post-abortion complications;
10. The absence of demographic or population targets;
11. Promotion of gender equality and women empowerment;
12. The establishment of a well-coordinated and integrated policies, plans, and programs
that seeks to uplift the quality of life of the people, more particularly the poor, the needy,
and the marginalized; and
13. The development of a comprehensive reproductive health program that addresses the
needs of the people throughout their life cycle.
The following are the salient features of the Reproductive Health and Population Bill:
1. The provision of emergency obstetric and neonatal care services in every province and
city for every 500,000 citizens, and the provision of four (4) basic obstetric and neonatal
care services for every 500,000 citizens;
2. The provision of full range of family planning methods, and PHILHEALTHs full
coverage for the cost of family planning;
3. The inclusion of family planning supplies to the list of essential medicines;
4. The provision of PHILHEALTH maximum benefits to all serious and life-threatening
reproductive health conditions such as, but not limited to, HIV/AIDS, breast and
reproductive tract cancers, obstetric conditions, and menopausal and post-menopausal
related conditions;
5. The introduction of age-appropriate, Reproductive Health and Sexuality Education in the
formal and non-formal education curriculum; and
6. The introduction of a Certificate of Compliance, to be issued by the local Population
Office, as part of the essential requirements of a marriage license;
The bill is currently pending before the plenary of the House of Representatives, after the House
Committee on Population and Family Relations transmitted Committee Report No. 664.
However, after a heated debate last December 2011, and after facing massive opposition from the
Catholic Church and other cause-oriented groups, the plenary has not set a schedule for the
discussion of the measure. A similar bill is filed in the Senate, sponsored by the Honorable
Senators Pia Compaera Cayetano and Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

Statement of the Problem
This study shall answer the following questions:
1) What are the views of the students of the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Arts and
Letters regarding Reproductive Health Bill?
2) Do the students of the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Arts and Letters share the
same reasons and arguements with the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines?
3) Are the students open to change their position about the bill?
Scope and Limitation
The study shall discuss at length the Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill as
envisioned by the members of the House of Representatives. The provisions to be cited in this
study shall be lifted from HB 04244. The Senate, led by Honorables Pia Compaera Cayetano
and Miriam Defensor-Santiago, also has a version of the bill, but shall not be used in the study.
This study shall also discuss at length the position of the Catholic Church on Life, particularly on
Reproductive Health, Population Management, and Contraceptives use. While the encyclical
Humanae Vitae shall be used, the study shall exhaust local pastoral letters and position papers
of local Catholic Church organs such as the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines,
Pro-Life Philippines, and others. It is safe to infer that the official position of the University of
Santo Tomas on this issue runs along the lines of that of the CBCP and the Catholic Church.
This study shall use as samples the students of the University of Santo Tomas in gathering data to
resolve the first problem of the study. However, there shall be no comprehensive breakdown of
data in terms of year levels, gender, and faculty delineations in presenting the data. The study
shall focus on enterprise findings of the survey. Also, students of the UST Education High
School, UST High School, and UST Graduate School, shall not be respondents to the study.
Review of Related Literature
According to the Fact Sheet on the Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill as
issued by the House Committee on Population and Family Relations chaired by the Honorable
Representative Gerardo Espina (House Bill 4244, 2011), the bills aim to do the following: (a)
integrate a responsible parenthood and family planning component into all anti-poverty and other
sustainable human development programs and promote peoples right to health, especially the
poor and marginalized; (2) uphold the basic right of couples and individuals to decide freely and
responsibly the number of children they may have and the reproductive spacing they will adopt,
and to provide the information, education, and access to medically safe, legal, affordable,
effective, and quality reproductive healthcare services, methods, devices, supplies, and relevant
information thereon; and (3) ensure the effective partnership among the national government,
local government units (LGUs) and private sector in the design, implementation, coordination,
integration, monitoring, and evaluation of people-centered programs to enhance quality of life
and environmental protection.
Furthermore, the Fact Sheet cites sections 12 and 15, Article II of the Constitution of the
Republic of the Philippines, which state:
Section 12. 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. The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the
rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and the development of moral character shall receive the
support of the Government.
Section 15. The State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health
consciousness among them.
According to Odchimar, 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). 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.
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 womans health. (Odchimar, 2011)

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.(Odchimar, 2011)
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.(Odchimar, 2011)
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 Gods 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. (Odchimar,2011)

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. (Odchimar, 2011)
According to De La Rosa, The University of Santo Tomas was established primarily for
the purpose of sharing in the evangelizing mission of the church. It continuesly journeyed with
the Church in her relentless pursuit to nurture the seeds of Gods kingdom, where the dignity of
each human being and the sanctity of life are respected and upheld.
UST said that RH bill is a junk. Affirming its advocacy for life, the University of Santo
Tomas has released a statement opposing the reproductive health (RH) bill pending in
Congress, saying a government-sponsored responsible parenthood program should be motivated
by an option for life and not against it. (Villamor, 2011)

The statement in support of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said
natural family planning was the better option as it is not only pro-life but also pro-poor and pro-
women, since it does not endanger peoples health.
It (natural family planning) promotes discipline and sacrifice. It does not take away the
openness to the gift of life.
We believe that human life is Gods sole prerogative, having created this sacred gift
immediately at the moment of conception, the statement released by the Office for Religious
Affairs said.
UST is specifically opposing a provision in the consolidated RH bill, House Bill No. 4244,
appropriating taxpayers money on contraceptive pills including abortifacients that are
potentially hazardous to health, and [bring] about moral and spiritual corruption by promoting
irresponsible sexual activity. (Villamor, 2011)
The bill, UST pointed out, will also require employers to spend for the contraceptives of their
employees even if it is against their conscience.
Moreover, the bill will punish critics of RH for malicious engagement in disinformation with
jail time and hefty fines. (Villamor, 2011)
UST called for the protection of freedom of religion enshrined in the 1987 Constitution and the
right to conscientious objection in matters contrary to ones faith.

According to Genove, If there is a strong argument on the passage of the Reproductive Health
(RH) Bill, it is the ever-growing population of the Philippines. According to the latest statistics
on the countrys demographical data, there are now 96 million Filipinos, a considerable increase
in the last 10 years or so, or a growth rate of at least four to six percent every year. Translated to
more significant data, five to six babies are born in the country every minute, a staggering
information considering that the Philippines is, until today, still referred to by its neighboring
countries as a developing economy.
Thus, the latest proposed legislation in both the Senate and the House of Representatives has left
the Filipino people extremely polarized. A lot of considerations have emerged in several
discussions essentially because the staunchest opposition to the passage of the RH Bill comes
from the Catholic Church. This is understandable because the Philippines remains to be the only
Christian nation in the Far East and with the colonization of Spain for almost four centuries,
Catholicism is widespread and prevalent. (Genove, 2011)
Some sectors contend that the RH Bill boils down to the freedom of choice among couples and
those who are sexually active. Others reason out that procreation is Gods legacy to His people.
On the other hand, women who bear the brunt of childbirth and its perils say that they have
the right to choose what is best for them, meaning, if their bodies could not withstand the rigors
of childbirth, then they have all the right to take care of their own bodies. (Genove, 2011)
Examining closely the advantages and disadvantages of the RH Bill, the former far outweighs
the latter, that is, there are more benefits that the majority of Filipinos can get compared to not
having such a bill passed for legislation in the country. (Genove, 2011)
What is needed in the RH Bill is widespread information and dissemination of the various family
planning methods and contraceptives that are available for couples. While the rich, educated
couples understand the choices that they have, the poor folk who comprise the majority
hardly have any knowledge on their options because they lack education. But, the lack of
education is going to be another story or, on the contrary, the lack of education may be related to
the passage of the RH Bill. (Genove, 2011)
HISTORY OF RH BILL
The 1994 International convention on Population and Development (ICPD), to which the
Philippines is a signatory, defines reproductive health as a state of complete physical, mental and
social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity in all matters relating to the
reproductive system and to its functions and processes. Reproductive health therefore implies
that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to
reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so. Implicit in this last
condition is the right of men and women to be informed and to have access to safe, effective,
affordable and acceptable methods of family planning and fertility regulation of their choice, as
long as they are not against the law. It is also understood that couples have the right of access to
appropriate healthcare services that will enable the women to go safely through pregnancy and
childbirth, and have the best chance of having a healthy infant. With the Philippines signing the
1967 United Nations Declaration on Population which stressed that the population problem must
be considered by governments as a principal element in long-term economic planning, RA No.
6365 or the Population Act of the Philippines was enacted under the Marcos administration. The
said law created the Commission on Population (POPCOM) and mandated it to study the
population problem and come up with the appropriate solutions. In 1970, upon OPCOMs
recommendation, the government officially launched the National Population Program (NPP)
which advocated a small family size norm, and provided information and services to reduce the
fertility rate. During the Aquino administration, the focus shifted towards the right of couples to
determine the number of their children, a move that was also observed in other Asian countries.
In 1988, the institutional and operational responsibility of the family planning program was
transferred to the Department of Health (DoH) while the POPCOM was made to concentrate on
population and Development activities. Under the DoH, family planning became a component of
the total health program and was viewed as a health intervention rather than a demographic one.
As such, improving maternal and child health, instead of merely reducing fertility, became the
primary concern. In 1991, with the passage of the Local Government Code, population policy
programs were subsequently devolved to LGUs. The Ramos government up scales the initiative
of previous administrations by redefining the countrys population program from population
control to population management subsuming family planning under the sustainable
development framework. The sustainable development framework espouses a balance between
and among population levels, resources and the environment. Then DoH Secretary Juan Flavier
actively promoted family planning and reproductive health through the Kung silay mahal nyo,
magplano campaign, and encouraged the use of condoms to prevent unplanned pregnancies and
the spread of HIV. Under the DoH, family planning became a component of the total health
program and was viewed as a health intervention rather than a demographic one. As such,
improving maternal and child health, instead of reducing fertility, became the primary concern.
The Estrada administration continued the efforts of the Aquino and Ramos governments and
introduced alternative demographic scenarios and other contraceptive method mixes to support
fertility decline. Under the Arroyo administration, population policy largely reflects the Catholic
Churchs position on family planning which emphasizes responsible parenting, informed choice,
respect for life and birth spacing. Albeit acknowledging that population growth has to slow
down, the national government is focusing solely on mainstreaming natural family planning
(NFP ) as the only acceptable mode of birth control and leaves out the decision-making
regarding the budget allocation for expenditures on other family planning methods to the LGUs.
Amidst criticisms, President Arroyo pointed out that the government is not in violation of any
law since modern contraceptives are not banned in the country and remain available
commercially nationwide. (Ambat, 2009)
The poor comprise the majority of Filipinos. Because they are poor, they necessarily lack
education or have no education at all. Who, then, will teach and guide these people about their
choices, especially in the number of children that they can have or are able to support? Again,
because of a dearth of knowledge, these people simply just leave it to fate if it happens that the
wife gets pregnant almost every year. (Genove, 2011)
The issue is not abortion at all. It is a totally different aspect of the entire discussion. The issue is
giving the people a choice of whether they will adapt the family planning methods that have been
suggested for them. It is for them to take it or leave it. If the people so desire that they would
choose from among the artificial family planning methods available, then it is their choice. The
bottomline is that these information should be made available for everyone and explained to
them, most especially those who have no capacity to learn and understand. These people are the
ones most vulnerable. (Genove, 2011)
It is about time that family planning be included as part of the curriculum in schools and
universities. The inclusion of sex education has been practiced in the past, but was phased out
because of some opposition. Let this be revived today because of the need of the youth to be
informed about their rights as a human being. Parents should also help the schools in making
their children understand the pitfalls of early marriage or teen pregnancy. If the people are
properly informed, then they would be able to make intelligent choices for their own betterment.
In the process, they would be empowered. (Genove, 2011)
Population control should not be continued. Birth control --- through massive contraception
which would result in abortion and lead to the destruction of Filipino families homes and of our
future. (Atienza, 2011)
The AIDS Education Program is a pervasive comprehensive plan of instruction which finds its
way in as many subject areas as possible to ensure that students from Grade VI in the
intermediate level up to college level pick up the core message: to avoid HIV/AIDS, use
condoms. A wealth of data and arguments prove that condoms cannot guarantee 100% protection
from the dreaded disease, but the program directors, led by Mr. Geof Manthy, the WHO
representative, are bent on using the classrooms to condomized our children.
There is value concepts included, but true to the tenets of safe sex and AIDS education courses,
there is a deliberate attempt to obfuscate the value concepts by avoiding specifics and by
allowing a certain tone, an attitude to prevail. In this approach, no values-teaching takes place.
Instruction simply tells students to take the facts or the information, sense how they feel about
the facts, make their options and then make the best decisions. There is no right and wrong
decision. What matters is that the students are comfortable with their answers which they base on
facts and data and not on the moral issues of the sensitive subject of sexuality and the
transmission of life. (Ranada, 1996)
The church teaches the necessity of responsible parenthood for married couples. It has never
been the teaching of the Church that couples should keep on begetting as many children as they
physically can and simply trust God to provide for them. (Bacani, 1992)
The chief concerns of a Catholic university is the critical study, dissemination, explanation and
defense of catholic teaching regarding the population question, responsible parenthood, family
planning and contraception, sterilization and abortion.
Another very important task of a catholic university, especially of those in the medical faculty is
to bring out the full truth about contraception and particularly the evil effects of the pill and the
IUD. (Bacani, 1992)
It is interesting to note the latest statistics coming from the Social Weather Station under the
supervision of Mr. Mahar Mangahas, which revealed that in the June 2011 survey, only 30
percent agreed and 51 percent disagreed that the use of condoms constitutes abortion.
Furthermore, only 29 percent agreed and 51 percent disagreed that the use of IUDs constitutes
abortion. Also, only 29 percent agreed and 52 disagreed that the use of birth control pills
constitutes abortion. The results of the survey likewise revealed that the balances from 100
percent, roughly 2 out of every 10 adult Filipinos, were unable to take a stand. (Genove, 2011)
According to Socrates, the debate (on Reproductive Health) would seem to revolve around the
degree of protection to be accorded human life, and to some extent it is so: On one hand, pro-life
thinking holds that the right to life demands respect and protection from pre-conception
(marriage and the conjugal act), through birth and education (family life), to its terminal stages
(the aged and the dying). On the other hand, the pro-choice position argues that human life and
corrolarily, the concepts of marriage and the family may be the object of certain choices of the
individual, and so assert the licitness of divorce, contraception, abortion, and so on. In truth,
however, the issue is not so much the degree but the direction or end of such respect and
protection: Respect and protection for what and for whom?
Furthermore, Socrates contends that, the issue of whether man is free to determine good and evil
underlies the pro-life versus pro-choice debate. The pro-life (natural law) position affirms that
human freedom does not extend to determining what is good or not; that there are objective
criteria beyond the needs or preferences of the individual human person, stemming from the
truths of human nature and the universe, which man could not tamper with without causing
harmful disorder on himself and his environment.
The pro-choice stand, on the other hand, implicitly argues that, at least in the are of
reproduction, there are no objective norms; or that considerations of socio-economic
development, maternal health, etc. in the end subjective personal preferences determine the
moral quality of the acts involved. Such position, however, would also remove the rational basis
for any assertion concerning the immortality of all sorts of patently injurious acts to the person
and to society (masturbation, homosexuality, divorce, euthanasia, etc.), since it would deny the
objective inviolability of the human reproductive process.
Socrates says that section 12, Article II of the 1987 Constitution, cuts cleanly into the pro-life
versus pro-choice debate as constitutional acknowledgment of objective natural-law norms. It is
clearly a pro-life provision, expressive of natural-law thinking.
Socrates says, Indeed, Section 12, Article II of the 1987 Constitution, effectively bars the
possibility of de-criminalizing abortion, since it protects the unborn from the moment of
conception. In fact, this provision is primarily intended to prevent the State from legalizing
abortion or adopting the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade.
In Roe, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Texas statue criminalizing abortion as violative of
a mothers right to privacy, a right qualified only by the states interest in protecting the health
of a pregnant woman and protecting the potentiality of human life. These state-interests
increase, according to the majority, as the woman approaches term, and become compelling
at some point during pregnancy. Thus, the court arbitrarily determined those compelling points
at approximately the end of the first trimester (for the states interest in maternal health) and
at viability (for the interest in potential life), i.e., after the second trimester, when state
intervention would be warranted. It was argued, to the contrary, that life begins at conception...
and that, therefore, the state has a compelling interest in protecting that life from and after
conception. The court, however, refused to rule on the difficult question when life begins.
(Socrates, 2011)
The majority decision in Roe comes with the dissent of, among others, then Justice (later Chief
Justice) Rehnquist, principally on the ground that it constitutes judicial legislation (suggestive
of a positivist view on his part); but the decision has since withstood attempts to overturn it,
noteably in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which upheld Roe on the basis of stare decisis but
also rejected the trimester framework in favor of an undue burden standard to determine the
constitutional validity of a states regulation of abortion. In his dissenting opinion in Casey,
Chief Justice Rehnquist (joined by three other justices) clearly declared that the Court was
mistaken in Roe when it classified a womans decision to terminate her pregnancy as a
fundamental right that could be abridged only in a manner which withstood strict scrutiny.
(Socrates, 2011)
The jurisprudential and human social and personal conundrum spawned by Roe is precisely what
our Section 12, Article II, prevents. Any legislation purporting to allow abortion (or to diminish
the penalties), no matter how regulated, would be unconstitutional and therefore void. A repeal of
the criminal statutes which at present penalize abortion would even elevate the act to the crime of
murder, since the life of an unborn from conception is equally protected as the life of the
mother. (Socrates, 2011)
The State has no right to dictate, directly or indirectly, the number of children a family should
have; and it can be seen that underlying government efforts towards this end are non-legitimate
considerations: making the task of bureaucratic planning easier (which opens the family to
greater impositions); of of covering up government corruption and inefficiency which are real
causes of underdevelopment; and, even worse, of eugenics (good-birth), towards the goal of
keeping the world spacious and pleasant for the supposedly superior (in terms of race, wealth,
or skill) to the exclusion of the inferior. The eugenic considerations may be seen from the fact
that pressure and funding for birth-control program flow from North to South, from rich to poor.
According to Pope John Paul II, the Gospel of Life is at the heart of Jesus message... Man is
called to a fullness of life which far exceeds the dimensions of his earthly existence, because it
consists in sharing the very life of God... life on earth is not an ultimate but a penultimate
reality; even so, it remains a sacred reality entrusted to us to be preserved with a sense of
responsibility and brought to perfection in love and in the gift of ourselves to God and to our
brothers and sisters.
The Church knows that this Gospel of Life, which she has received from her Lord, has a
profound and persuasive echo in the heart of every person believer and non-believer alike
because it marvellously fulfills all the hearts expectations while infinitely surpassing them. Even
in the midst of difficulties and undertainties, every person sincerely open to truth and goodness
canm by the light of reason and the hidden action of grace, come to recognize in the natural law
writeen in the heart (cf. Rom 2:14-15) the sacred value of human life from its very beginning
until its end, and can affirm the right of every human being to have this primary good respected
to the highest degree. Upon the recognition of this right, every human community and political
community itself are founded.

In a special way, believers in Christ must defend and promote this right, aware as they are of the
wonderful truth recalled by the Second Vatican Council: By his incarnation the Son of God has
united himself in some fashion with every human being (Gaudium et Spes, No. 22). This saving
event reveals to humanity not only the boundless love of God who so loved the world that he
gave his only Son (John 3:16), but also the incomparable value of every human person.
(emphasis supplied)
According to Nidoy, the Reproductive Health Bills proposal for an enforced distribution of birth
control devices has raised crucial issues in the realm of science: Does the pill kill children or
not? Does it cause health or sickness of women? Does availability of contraceptives strengthen
or destroy families? Do they improve quality of life or create more poverty? Do condoms
prevent or promote AIDS at the country level? Is population control a solution to poverty or a
misuse of limited funds?
Nidoy further says that these crucial national questions cannot be left to the opinion of just any
expert. Based on rational criteria, the State must choose science experts who possess: (1)
specialized expertise corresponding to the question; (2) highest international prestige (e.g. Nobel
Prize winners, peer reviewed science journals or prominent science organizations); (3)
objectivity, i.e. the expert should not be influenced by ideology, religion, commercial interests,
political advocacy, international pressures. Scientific findings that tend to go against their
personal biases are more credible.

According to The Ancient Christian Faith on Contraception and Sterilization, every Church in
Christendom condemned contraception until 1930, when, at its decennial Lambeth Conference,
Anglicanism gave permission for the use of contraception in a few cases. Soon , all Protestant
denominations had adopted the secularist position on contraception. Today not one stand with the
Catholic Church to maintain the ancient Christian faith on the issue.
According to St. Augustine of Hippo, Doctor of the Church, for necessary sexual intercourse for
begetting (children) is alone worthy of marriage. But that which goes beyond this necessity no
longer follows reason but lust. And yet it pertains to the character of marriage... to yield it to the
partner lest by fornication the other sin damnably (through adultery)...
St. Augustine says further that, of so great power is the ordinance of the Creator, and the order of
procreation, that... when a man shall wish to use a body part of the wife not allowed for this
purpose (orally or anally consummated sex), the wife is more shameful, if she suffer it to take
place in her own case, than if in the case of another woman.

The study of addressing an Urgent Action Needed to Address Reproductive Health
Needs of Nepali Women, Nepal faces an uphill task in meeting its Millennium
Development Goals (MDG) related to improving the reproductive health of its
women, according to a new World Bank report launched today. Among its
suggestions, the report calls for integration of reproductive health services,
decentralized and action oriented planning, targeting poor geographic areas and
finding innovative ways of financing reproductive health. (Worldbank.org, 2009)
In connection, reproductive health discussed a lot of facts and theoretical
studies about womens position. Specifically in America that the resulting lacks of
care can challenge rural women's reproductive autonomy. Their reproductive choices
may also be limited by the added impact of rural values, norms, and belief systems
regarding sexual health and the patient-physician relationship. Rural women tend to
have less education, fewer job opportunities, lower salaries, more children, and
greater family caretaking responsibility than their urban counterparts. They are
more likely both to marry and to have children at younger ages. The combination of
poverty, low population density, and lack of child care and other services in many
rural areas reinforces traditional roles for women. They receive less preventive care
than women in urban areas and have higher rates of chronic disease. (Jama.org,
2000)
One theoretical study in the issue of Reproductive Health, it is intimately related
to sexual and diseases particularly HIV and AIDS. Correct and consistent condom
use can prevent susceptible people from acquiring HIV infection. However, in many
countries repeated cross-sectional studies reveal a trend of increasing prevalence of
HIV infection alongside an increase in reported condom use. Changes in sexual
behaviour that reduce the number of new HIV infections will not become apparent
through changes in HIV prevalence until some time after the behaviour change takes
place. Limitations in the data used to assess condom use may also explain the
concurrent increases in condom use and HIV prevalence. One common indicator of
condom use, the UNGASS indicator (condom use at last higher risk sex of those aged
15-24), has been chosen to illustrate how changes in the proportion of people who
report using condoms do not always explain changes in the size of the group who had
high risk behaviour. Indicators based on the proportion of the whole population who
have sex without using a condom would be better measures of the size of the group at
highest risk of HIV infection. (Zaba. Slaymaker, 2003)

With the aid of condoms as contraceptives; in another country they are improving
Reproductive Health, making motherhood safer. Worldwide each year, more than half a
million women die from complications of childbirth and pregnancy. AIDS claims three
million lives. And in total, illness and death from poor reproductive health account for one
fifth of the global burden of disease, and nearby one third for all women. This year, leaders
worldwide committed to change. Progress for women is progress for all, they declared at
the 2005 World Summit. (Unfpa.org, 2005) Reproductive health tackles the life of the
women in the world. It is how it reaches the prevention of negative scenarios that will
happen.
Universal access to reproductive health, including family planning, is the starting
point for maternal health and saving womens lives. UNFPA makes motherhood safer with a
focus on family planning, skilled attendance at birth and access to emergency obstetric
care. Maternal health also frees women to pursue opportunities in work and education and
make decisions that improve life for their families.
A new global initiative, the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, was
announced at an official side event during the 2005 World Summit. This group of five
United Nations agencies, including UNFPA, and many other partners, will mobilize global
and local commitment and action to reduce deaths among mothers and children, promote
universal coverage of essential interventions, and advocate for increased resources.
Mobile reproductive health clinics made motherhood safer in remote villages in the Lao
Peoples Democratic Republic, with six-member travelling teams of doctors, nurses,

midwives and health educators rotating visits to 107 villages in the poorest parts of the
three south-eastern provinces. The UNFPA-supported project was carried out with the Lao
Womens Union and the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF).
In Eritrea, emergency obstetric skills gained by 140 nurses and midwives in a three-week
in-service training programme improved care during pregnancy, skilled attendance at
births and access to obstetric fistula repair.
For indigenous communities in Latin America and the Caribbean, UNFPA continued to
address disproportionately high rates of maternal and infant deaths, using culturally
sensitive approaches. In Panama, the first emergency obstetric care unit in the Comarca
Ngobe Bugl region served 32 indigenous communities. In Otavalo, Ecuador, the Jambi
Huasi clinic provided modern and traditional medical treatment and family planning to
Quecha-speaking descendents of the Incasas many as 1,000 people per month in 2005.
In Bolivia, a bilingual literacy programme designed to reach 8,000 indigenous women
continued to build understanding of sexual and reproductive health.
In Jamaica, persons with disabilities were the focus of a reproductive health programme
to raise awareness and provide services. The UNFPAsupported effort sensitized parents,
health and social workers, and school guidance counsellors to the needs of adolescents
with mental and physical disabilities. It was carried out with the Jamaica Council for
Persons with Disabilities.
Midwives in Indonesia used small grants to pay for emergency transport from rural
villages to obstetric facilitiesan activity of the Mother Friendly Movement, a national
initiative supported by UNFPA since 1997 that has trained midwives, upgraded health
facilities, and raised awareness of the need for rapid action in case of labour
complications.
The worlds highest maternal death rate occurs in Badakshan, Afghanistan, where 40 per
cent of girls marry by the age of 15. In 2005, UNFPA launched a campaign to persuade
mullahs in the remote province to speak out against child marriage, and continued to train
health workers in emergency obstetric care and offer vocational training for girls.
The African Union Ministers of Health approved a continental reproductive health policy
framework that will support the new UNFPA Maternal Health Initiative. The initiative
supports African countries in accelerating progress towards the MDGs; developing and
implementing national road maps for maternal health; and scaling up programmes for
family planning, skilled attendance at delivery, emergency obstetric care and obstetric
fistula.
African lawmakers from 38 countries, meeting in Chad in May, adopted the NDjamena
Declaration, pledging to do their utmost to achieve universal access to reproductive health
by 2015 as progress towards ending poverty and reversing the spread
of HIV/AIDS.
According to Ditmore, condoms remain the sole effective method of prevention of
HIV. However, in some places - including Cambodia and China - condoms have been
modified to add so-called pearls, hard rubber studs or even bristles that are painful and
dangerous to the receptive partner, causing injury to the vagina and anus. Such injuries
contribute to the transmission of disease, so these condoms are not useful for prevention of
STIs or HIV. In addition to unsafe condoms, accessories such as the "tiger's moustache"
penis ring have bristles and are as dangerous in the same way as unsafe condoms. Public
health officials have outlawed the sale of unsafe condoms in Thailand, a step that should be
taken in all places where both they and other unsafe accessories are available.
Moreover, concerning about Reproductive Health one of the proposed
theoretical concept is the sex education. On in Western Nepal, school-based sex
education gives uncomfortable feeling between teachers and students. According to
Pokharel and Shakya, the National Adolescent Health and Development Strategy (2000)
of Nepal considers adolescents a key target group for information and services. The extent
to which sex education is being provided in schools has received little attention, however.
At higher secondary level, students are supposed to be taught basic sex education using a
chapter in a textbook called Health, Population and Environment. Little is known about
how or how well this material is covered. In a study in 2002 among adolescents in eight
schools in the Nawalparasi District in the Western Region of Nepal, we interviewed eight
teachers responsible for teaching this subject. We also collected survey data from 451
students and held four focus group discussions with 26 of them. We found that adolescents
in these schools did not appear to be getting the information they needed. Most of the
teachers did not want to deal with sensitive topics and feared censure by their colleagues
and society. Some lacked the skills to give such instruction. Many students also felt
uncomfortable with the topics. The challenge is to strengthen sex education, make it more
appropriate for the students and ensure that teachers are more comfortable and able to
give instruction on the topic.

One of the countries that discussed the issue about sex education is China. "Sexual
and reproduction health of teenagers" was set as one of major topics at the International
Forum on Population and Development that opened Tuesday in Wuhan, central China's
Hubei Province. Experts from different countries expressed their opinions and experience
in sex education. Traditionally in Chinese culture, speaking about sex was a private matter
for only close friends - not for public discussion. Unfortunately, this conservative attitude
led to inadequate sexual education for children. Most Chinese students about sex from their
friends, forbidden books and magazines and, more recently, the Internet, statistics show.
According to Population and Development Country Report published Tuesday, during the
past decade, the overall health of about 323 million Chinese young people aged 10 to 24 has
been improving steadily. However, they have experienced an earlier age of sexual and
psychological maturity.
Young people's sexual ethics are changing. Premarital pregnancies and induced abortions
among the young have continued to increase, said the report. More and more experts worried
about the lack of sex education for teenagers, which has caused many negative results such as
psychological problems. They continuously call for teaching reforms to give teenagers proper
facts about sex. Chinese government agrees and is taking measures to change the situation. The
sex education for teenagers is a complicated task. It integrates sexual morality, psychology,
ethics and law. "The major purpose of the sex education for teenagers is to let them have a
correct and comprehensive understanding in sex, which will help them properly control their
sexual behaviors," said Professor Peng Xiaohui with Huazhong University of Science and
Technology, also famous Chinese sexologist. In order to improve China's poor sex education,
Peng said, governments should pay much attention to two things: training more sex education
teachers in primary and middle schools while cultivating more professionals through opening
sexology majors in some universities. (Xinhua, 2010)
According to Sharon Jayson, Sex education may not have the influence that many assume
in averting teen pregnancy, suggest new international data that find U.S. teens have babies at
much higher rates than peers in many countries, regardless of the sex education received in those
countries.
"I don't think sex education has anything to do with teen fertility," says sociologist Julien
Teitler, director of the Social Indicators Survey Center at Columbia University in New York.
"The evidence really doesn't support that, when you look at the differences between countries in
teen fertility and sex education." He says Finland and the Netherlands, for example, have a
history of comprehensive sex education; there's almost no sex education in Greece, Italy and
Ireland. Yet teen birth rates are much lower in all those countries than the USA's 42 births per
1,000 women ages 15-19.
An abstinence based approach to sex education focuses on teaching young people that
abstaining from sexuntil marriage is the best means of ensuring that they avoid infection with
HIV, other sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancy. As well as seeing
abstinence from sex as the best option for maintaining sexual health, many supporters of
abstinence based approaches to sex education also believe that it is morally wrong for people to
have sex before they are married. Abstinence approaches are represented in programmes such as
Aspire and True Loves Waits (both developed in the US), which aim to teach young people that
they should commit to abstaining from sex until marriage. (Avert.org, 2009)
Although not all abstinence education programmes are the same, they share the fundamental
purpose of teaching the social, psychological, and health gains to be realised by abstaining from
sexual activity. As such, abstinence education tends to include the following teaching objectives,
which are derived from a definition given in Federal Law in the United States:5
Abstinence from sexual activity outside marriage is the expected standard for all school
age children
Abstinence from sexual activity is the only certain way to avoid out of wedlock
pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and other associated health problems
A mutually faithful, monogamous relationship in the context of marriage is the expected
standard of sexual activity
Sexual activity outside the context of marriage is likely to have harmful psychological
and physical effects
Bearing children out of wedlock is likely to have harmful consequences for the child, the
childs parents, and society
How to reject sexual advances and that alcohol and drug use increases vulnerability to
sexual advances
The importance of attaining self sufficiency before engaging in sexual activity

Synthesis
The Reproductive Health debate does not only focus on the policy itself, but on the line of reason
by which the decision-makers shall base their position on the issue. Clearly, the argument of the
Church is on the right to life, with basis on how Scripture and the Philippine Constitution defines
its very beginning.
The policy makers behind the measure, on the other hand, stresses on the need of presenting
alternatives to the people. As the measure does not outlaw the use of Natural Family Planning
methods, the State asserts its policy obligation to provide means for other women to which this
method may not apply on basis of health and such other reasons.
The opinion of the gentleman representing Palawans 2nd district presents a varied perspective of
the other members of the House, from which this measure emanates from. He stresses on the
importance of the unborn child, and the equal rights it is accorded with; as defined in the
Constitution, it shall be accorded equal rights as that of the mother. Representative Socrates
reflects the opinion of House members opposing the measure, bringing the debate to greater
heights.
The University of Santo Tomas position on the issue run along the lines to which the Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) developed its position. The university has also
participated in protest actions and other activities organized by the latter. While its primary
opposition is entrenched on its Catholic identity, it has also expressed its opposition to specific
provisions of the bill, particularly in the use of abortifacients.
The literature reviewed poses the following arguments against HB 04244:
1. The Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill is unconstitutional, for it is
not in line with Section 12, Article II of the 1987 Constitution, which protects the rights
of the unborn child and bestows upon it rights equal to the mother;
2. The Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill will not address the
incommesuration of population and economic development. The opposing forces contend
that economic development cannot be attributed to the growth of population, but to the
speed and pace by which it adopts technological advancement;
3. Any effort from the government to manage family size is non-legitimate and has no basis
in the Constitution; and
4. The Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill, through its introduction of
contraceptive medications and devices, promotes promiscuity and irresponsible
intercourse among the citizens.
Deducing from the arguments of those who oppose the measure, and from the treatise of Genove,
the following arguments are posed in favor of HB 04244:
1. The Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill is constitutional, for it is in
line with Section 14, Article II of the 1987 Constitution, which recognizes the role of
women in nation-building, and shall ensure the fundamental equality of men and women
before the law;
2. The Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill will address the economic
slow down due to overpopulation. The advocates argue further that a managed population
enables the State to allocate resources better since resources shall be commensurate to the
number of people;
3. The Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill promotes the freedom of
choice, which is central to the exercise of rights, must be fully guaranteed by the State. In
the same manner, the limited resources of the country cannot be suffered to be spread so
thinly to service a burgeoning multitudemaking allocations grossly adequate and
effectively meaningless (subsections [a] and [l], section 3, HB 04244); and
4. The Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill, through its introduction of
contraceptive medications and instruments, provides medically safe, accessible,
affordable, and effective reproductive healthcare to the citizens.
This researchers, with the goal of checking the adherence of students to the adversarial position
of the University of Santo Tomas towards the Reproductive Health and Population Development
Bill, sees the need to establish core arguments of both sides. It is seen to be important that these
arguments be presented to become a guide in checking for understanding of students, who are
subjects of this study, regarding the issue.

Significance of the Study
The study is a significant endeavor in promoting social awareness, particularly on the issue of
Reproductive Health and Population Development. An essential element of an informed decision
is awareness, which results to a deeper dissection of an issue to find an objective truth, which
determines ones position.
This study shall also be beneficial to students who wish to pursue studies in Law and Public
Policy. The issue at bar warrants a closer look in the two approaches of development of State
policy; the first espousing that the crafting of policy must be devoid of religious biases and must
solely focus on the benefit of the body politic, and the second espousing that public policy
development warrants adherence to a higher law, that of Natural and Divine Law as espoused in
the Scripture.
This study is also significant because it elucidates on the increasing social role of the Church on
matters concerning policies on life, liberty, and development. The Reproductive Health Bill is
not solely an issue of freedom of choice on the part of the married couples, but also of the States
obligation to protect the couples sense of reason in choosing a reproductive health method.
While the Reproductive Health and Population Development issue responds to the freedom of
choice of families, it comes against, at least according to the Catholic Church and other
opponents of the measure, the Constitutional obligation of the State to protect the family as its
basic and autonomous social unit.

Lastly, this study is significant to Thomasians because it shall provide the basic premises by
which both forces, either in support or opposition, of the RH Bill have developed their
arguments. Reason, from a believer or a non-believers standpoint, must be the CORE element
by which positions are adopted.

Conceptual Framework
The Conceptual Framework of the study, as illustrated in the Basic Venn diagram below, shall
establish the premises by which the positions of the House of Representatives (RH Bill
proponents only), the students of the University of Santo Tomas, and the administration of the
University of Santo Tomas, are crafted.
RH
Bill
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework

Definition of Terms
For the purpose of this study, the following terms shall be defined as follows:
1. REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND POPULATION DEVELOPMENT BILL
otherwise known as HB 04244, is a consolidated bill from the bills filed by
Representatives Lagman, Edcel (Albay), Garin, Janette (Iloilo), Bag-ao, Kaka (PL-
Akbayan), Bello, Walden (PL-Akbayan), Biazon, Rodolfo (Muntinlupa), Syjuco, Augusto
(Iloilo), Ilagan, Luzviminda (PL-GABRIELA), and De Jesus, Emerenciana (PL-
GABRIELA), which provides for a policy on family planning, availability of
reproductive health medication and service to constituents, and introduction of
Reproductive Health education in the secondary education curriculum;
2. CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONFERENCE OF THE PHILIPPINES otherwise known
as CBCP, is an organ of the Catholic Church composed of bishops and archbishops
assigned in the Philippines that provide guidelines and positions to the Catholic faithful
on issues of faith and morals;
3. LEGISLATION refers to an Act of Congress, either initiated by the House of
Representatives or the Senate, with the purpose of providing guidelines on courses of
action and providing penalties for acts contrary to public morals;
4. POPULATION refers to the total number of people residing in a particular area;
5. PRO-LIFE refers to a general policy position by which the believer believes in the
value of life, and defines such to begin existence at the time of conception;
6. PRO-CHOICE refers to a general policy position by which the believer believes in the
value of choice, and promotes the freedom of the person to determine what suits him/her
best.
CHAPTER 2
RESEARCH
Hypothesis
The following are the hypotheses formulated based on the problem questions posted in the first
chapter:
a. On the first question:
Do the students of the University of Santo Tomas support the official position of its
administration opposing the Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill?
Null Hypothesis: The students of the University of Santo Tomas does not support the official
position of its administration opposing the Reproductive Health and Population Development
Bill.
Alternative Hypothesis: The students of the University of Santo Tomas supports the official
position of its admnistration opposing the Reproductive Health and Population Development
Bill.
b. On the second question:
Do the students of the University of Santo Tomas who oppose the bill share the same reasons
with the University for opposing the Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill?
Null Hypothesis: The students of the University of Santo Tomas who oppose the bill does not
share the same reasons with the University for opposing the Reproductive Health and Population
Development Bill.
Alternative Hypothesis: The students of the University of Santo Tomas who oppose the bill share
the same reasons with the University for opposing the Reproductive Health and Population
Development Bill.
c. On the third question:
Are the students open to change their position about the bill?
Null Hypothesis: The students are not open to change their position about the bill.
Alternative Hypothesis: The students are open to change their position about the bill.
Research Design
This study is a qualitative research that attempts to gather information with the end of validating
student support on the admnistrations position on the RH Bill. The qualitative method is
employed in the research because such research allows the detailed analysis of the existing
policy positions from which the students based their support or opposition on the bill.
>>advantages. Describe qualitative research.
The researchers will also use the descriptive research method in the conduct of the study. The
descriptive method is used for gathering data about a population. It will allow the researchers to
be familiar with the problems of the study. The method further allows the researcher to develop a
body of work that reflects the motivations behind support or opposition of sample students to the
Reproductive Health Bill.
The researchers would also refer to existing literature to come up with fundamental ideas
regarding the research problem.

Research Participants
In order to respond to the problem statements of the study, the researchers shall conduct a survey
with 300 participants, approximately 7.9 percent of the total population of the students in UST
Faculty of Arts and Letters.
Random sampling shall be the method in selecting study participants. This sampling method was
chosen to give students equal opportunity to become a part of the sample. To qualify to become
part of the sample, one must be a duly enrolled student of the University of Santo Tomas. The
chance of the entire sample population, in this case, the student body, to participate in the study
lends credence to the sample selection method. To conduct this sampling method, the researchers
must define the population, list down all the members of the population, and randomly select
students who will answer the survey.

Data Collection and Instruments
The researchers used the following instruments to gather data for the study:
1. Survey Questionnaires the survey questionnaires used in the survey were designed to
get a direct response from the students regarding the problem statements of the study;
2. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) SPSS is a statistical software which
shall be used to generate results based on the survey questionnaire. The tool will enable
the researchers to see enterprise findings of the study, and form analysis based on its
results; and
3. Periodicals the researchers used periodicals and serials on health, policy, Reproductive
Health policy positions and Catholic insights on the positions regarding the bill.
Periodicals may be in form of published materials or internet sources.

Research Procedure
The study shall be conducted within the confines of the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of
Arts and Letters, and shall have its students as the subjects of the survey. The survey questions
were formulated to determine if the subjects support or oppose the RH bill and the position of the
CBCP.
The following were set to be the questions of the survey.
Table 1
(1 totally disagree, 2 somewhat disagree, 3 somewhat agree, 4 totally agree)

1 2 3 4
1Do you agree that RH bill will provide
emergency obstetric and Neonatal care?
2Do you agree that RH bill will require all
accredited health facilities to provide a full
range of modern family planning methods?
3Do you agree that family planning supplies
will be considered as essential medicines?
4Are you in favor of RH bill requiring sex
education to public and private schools starting
from 5th grade up to 4th year high school?
5Do you agree that the penalty for violating RH
bill is imprisonment from 1 month to 6 months The
or a fine of 10,000 pesos to 50,000 pesos?
6Do you agree that no marriage license shall
be issued by the Local Civil Registrar unless the
applicants present a Certificate of Compliance
issued for free by the local family planning
office?
7Do you agree that Barangay Health Workers
and other community-based health workers
shall undergo training on the promotion of
reproductive health and shall receive at least
10% increase in honoraria upon successful
completion of training?
8Do you agree that employers with more than

200 employees shall provide reproductive
health services to all employees in their own
respective health facilities and those with less
than two hundred 200 workers shall enter into
partnerships with hospitals, health facilities, or
health professionals in their areas for the
delivery of reproductive health services?
pupose of this table of questionnaire is to determine the level of agreement of the students with
regard to the salient features of the Reproductive Health Bill. This will also provide the answer
for the first problem of the study.

Table 2
1 2 3 4
(1 totally disagree, 2 somewhat disagree, 3 somewhat agree, 4 totally agree)
10RH bill promotes reproductive health
1 2 3 4
11Contraceptives does not affect a womans
9Do you agree with the position of the
health
administrators of the University of Santo
12RH bill is a major attack on authentic human
Tomas opposing the RH Bill?
values and on Filipino cultural values regarding
human life that all of us have cherished since
time immemorial
13RH bill will reduce abortion rates
14Contraceptives provides a false sense of
security that takes away the inhibition to
sexual activity
15RH bill will prevent the spread of HIV
16RH Bill empowers women with ownership of
their own bodies
17RH Bill is necessary to stop the increase in
population
18RH Bill is a way to escape poverty
The pupose of this question is to identify the level of agreement of the students with regard to the
opposing position of the administrators of UST.
Table 3
The purpose of the question is to identify whether the students who oppose and support the
Reproductive Health Bill share the same basis as that of the CBCP. In the synthesis, the
researchers, after presenting literature on the opposing and supporting the bill, have translated
such treatises into arguments. questions are patterned in the arguments the CBCP, to establish if
the respondent supported the measure only on the basis of influence. This question shall answer
the second problem of the study.
1 2 3 4
19Do you agree on changing the provisions on
RH bill?
The purpose of the question is to check the firmness of belief of the student respondents towards
their positions. The researchers believe that, as the RH Bill debate progresses, students and
citizens will have access to new information and studies supporting or opposing the RH Bill.
This question checks the openness of the student respondents in appreciating new facts about the
issue. This question shall answer the third problem of the study.
Statistical Analysis
To use the survey results as a basis of analysis, all such data shall be encoded in the SPSS
application. The application shall assist in generating the results, used together with the statistical
methods of frequency, cummulative percent and weighted mean. These methods and formulae
shall be applied to determine the amounts needed among the set of data gathered.
The mean shall be used to determine the average results for a particular data set; it shall be used
to determine the average responses of students.
Formulas:
Mean To average all data points. - sample mean; x observed value; n sample size
CHAPTER 3
RESULTS OF THE STUDY
Survey
The survey was conducted February 28, 2012, within the confines of the University of Santo
Tomas. The list of 200 respondents were randomly chosen students from the UST Faculty of Arts
and Letters.
All respondents were given approximately 5-7 minutes to answer the survey, supervised by the
researchers. The researchers, however, were only available to respond to clarificatory questions
on the form of the survey.

Survey Results
The following were the findings of the survey:
Figure 2: Awareness of UST-AB students regarding R.A. 9211

Figure 2.1: Awareness on RH bill

Figure 2.2: Means which students got information regarding the position of the University
Figure 2.3: Do you support the position of the administrators opposing the RH bill?
Figure 2.4: Reasons why you oppose the RH bill

Figure 2.5: Reasons why you do not support RH bill

Figure 2.6: Are you open to changing your position regarding the issue?
Figure 2.7 Do you believe that RH bill is an infringement of public health and morals?
Figure 2.8: Do you believe that the reproductive health and sexuality education must be
integrated to the secondary education bill?
Figure 2.9: Do you believe that the house of representative should focus its energies to pass the
RH bill?
CHAPTER 4
DISCUSSION
Question 1: Are you aware that there is a measure in the House of Representatives pushing for
Reproductive Health and Population Development?
YES 164 respondents (82.00%)
NO 36 respondents (18.00%)
As stated in the previous Chapter, the purpose of the question is determining awareness that such
a measure is filed in Congress. The results indicate that majority of the respondents are aware
that a Reproductive Health measure is currently in the House of Representatives.
Question 2: Are you aware that the administrators of the University of Santo Tomas has released
a position opposing the Reproductive Health Bill?
The results indicate that majority of the respondents are aware that the university has released a
position opposing the RH Bill. However, the question does not indicate the specifics regarding
the content of such position paper.

Question 3: Please choose one from the following means by which you got or sought
information regarding the position paper:
The Varsitarian 108 respondents (72.97%)
From my classmates 12 respondents (8.11%)
From my professors 9 respondents (6.08%)
The Central Student Council 5 respondents (3.38%)
The Local Student Council 3 respondents (2.03%)
From the media 11 respondents (7.43%)
The results indicate that majority of the respondents acquired the information regarding the
position of the University towards RH bill.
Question 4: Do you support the position of the administrators of the University of Santo Tomas
opposing the Reproductive Health Bill?
I DONT KNOW ENOUGH TO MAKE A STAND 4 respondents (2.00%)
The results indicate that majority of the respondents support the position of the administrators of
the University of Santo Tomas in opposing the Reproductive Health Bill. This question respond
to the first problem statement of the study.

Question 5: Please choose four (4) reasons why you oppose the RH Bill.
My Professor told me to oppose the bill 20 respondents (19.61%)
The bill is unconstitutional 45 respondents (44.12%)
My friends oppose the bill 44 respondents (43.14%)
My church opposes the bill 102 respondents (100.00%)
The bill promotes premarital sex and abortion 102 respondents (100.00%)
The bill promotes a pre-disposed family size 62 respondents (60.78%)
The bill does not directly address poverty 10 respondents (9.80%)
My family opposes the bill 15 respondents (14.71%)
The media has convinced me to oppose the bill 8 respondents (7.84%)
The results indicate that majority of the reasons cited were the respondents churchs opposition
to the bill, the bill promoting premarital sex and abortion, the bill promoting a pre-disposed
family size, and that the bill is unconstitutional.

Question 6: Please indicate the reasons why you do not support the position of the
administrators of UST.
USTs Stand is not Realistic 42 respondents (44.68%)
Media 28 respondents (29.79%)
My family supports the bill 13 respondents (13.83%)
Others 11 respondents (11.70%)
The results indicate that USTs Stand is not Realistic. However, the respondents did not explain
the context. Media also turned out to be one of the most frequent responses, together with family
support. Other responses include religious views, and their own udnerstanding of the measure.
Question 7: If provided with new information regarding the Reproductive Health Bill, are you
open to changing your position regarding the issue?
YES, I AM OPEN TO CHANGE MY VIEW 46 respondents (23.00%)
NO, I HAVE MADE MY DECISION 154 respondents (77.00%)
The results indicate that majority of the respondents said that they have firmly decided on their
stance regarding the Reproductive Health Bill. This reflects the solid decision of the respondents
regarding their positions on the issue.

Question 8: Do you believe that the RH bill is an infringement of public health and morals?
I DO NOT KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THE BILL 22 respondents (11.00%)
The results indicate that majority of the respondents believe that the RH Bill is an infringement
of public health and morals. The telling aspect of the result is the number of respondents who
declare that they do not know enough about the bill. While in previous questions, there were only
categorical questions on whether they support or oppose the bill in general. As this question deals
with the familiarity of the respondents regarding the RH Bill, it could be said that some
respondents have decided on their position without knowing the specifics of the measure.
Question 9: Do you believe that the reproductive health and sexuality education must be
integrated to the secondary education bill?
I DO NOT KNOW ENOUGH OF THE BILL 22 respondents (11.00%)
The results indicate that while there is an opposition to the RH Bill in general, respondents
would like reproductive health and sex education incorporated to the secondary education
curriculum.
Question 10: Do you believe that the house of representative should focus its energies to pass
the RH bill?
YES, THE HOUSE MUST FOCUS ITS ENERGIES TO PASS THE RH BILL
68 respondents (34.00%)
NO, THE HOUSE MUST FOCUS ITS ENERGIES TO PASS OTHER IMPORTANT
BILLS
132 respondents (66.00%)
The results indicate that majority of the respondents believe that the members of the House of
Representatives must focus their energies to pass other important bills.

CHAPTER 5
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
As reflected in the previous chapter, it can be safely said that majority of the respondents
somewhat agree on the position of the administrators in opposing the Reproductive Health Bill.
Though there is a majority of agreeing with the position of that of the university which is in line
with the CBCP opposing the RH bill, there are still arguments presented by the as articulated in
the first chapter, that are not in line with the reasonings and arguements of the students.
The university in line with the CBCPs position provides a moral and constitutional basis. It cited
the value of life and human dignity as demostrated in Humanae Vitae by Pope Paul VI and in
encyclicals of Pope John Paul II. It borrows its constitutional argument from sections 12 and 15,
Article II of the constitution, which provides equal protection to the woman and the unborn
child.
Through the survey and other research instruments, the researchers were able to establish the
following:
1. That majority of the students are one with their administrators in opposing the RH Bill, ;
2. That majority of the students were not influenced by such other information conduits, and
reinforced their opposition on the same premises provided in the university and CBCP
stands; and
3. That majority of the students would want to change the provisions of the RH Bill,
provided with new information in support or opposition to the bill.
Conclusion
On the first question:
What are the views of the students of the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Arts and Letters
regarding Reproductive Health Bill?
Null Hypothesis: The students of the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Arts and Letters does
not support the Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill.
Alternative Hypothesis: The students of the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Arts and
Letters supports the Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill.
Based on the results of the survey, the null hypothesis is affirmed.
On the second question:

Do the students of the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Arts and Letters share the same
reasons and arguements with the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines?
Null Hypothesis: The students of the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Arts and Letters who
oppose the bill does not share the same reasons with the University for opposing the
Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill.
Alternative Hypothesis: The students of the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Arts and
Letters who oppose the bill share the same reasons with the University for opposing the
Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill.
Based on the results of the survey, the null hypothesis is affirmed.
On the third question:
Are the students open to change their position about the bill?
Null Hypothesis: The students are not open to change their position about the bill.
Alternative Hypothesis: The students are open to change their position about the bill.
Based on the results of the survey, the alternative hypothesis is affirmed.

Recommendations
The researchers recommend that future studies center on the support based on demographic and
psychographic lines such as, but not limited to, gender, religion, age, and year level. This will
indicate whether these lines will provide varied results from enterprise findings. It is also
recommended that researchers would come up with a larger sample and not limit their study with
one college or faculty to be able to have a more accurate results and to be able to see the
embodiment of the whole university.
Furthermore, the researchers recommend that there be a study be conducted delving deeper on
motivations behind the choices of respondents. This does not necessarily mean that a study be
conducted based on influences solely, influences are governed by motivations, which determines
judgment.
Lastly, the researchers recommend a discussion on the students positions on the Senate versions
of the Reproductive Health Bill. The House, with its parochial nature, represents localized
concerns on the issue. The Senate, on the other hand, with its national scope and with members
elected-at-large, represents a more nationalized perspective on the measure.

References
The Ancient Christian Faith on Contraception and Sterilation. (2011). What you know about RH
Bill, 30-34.
Ambat, G. H. (2009, July). www.senate.gov.ph/publications. Retrieved December 23, 2011, from

www.senate.gov.ph: http://www.senate.gov.ph/publications/PB%202009-03%20-
%20Promoting%20Reproductive%20Health.pdf
Atienza, L. (1996). Pro-life political action and lobby. In Voices for Life : A pro - life handbook
for asia (pp. 17-18). Manila: Human Life International - Asia.
Bacani, T. (1992). The Church and Birth Control. Manila.
De La Rosa, R. (1996). A University for Life. In Voices for Life: A pro-life handbook for Asia (p.
1). Manila: Human Life International - Asia.
Espina, R. J. (2011, March 15). 2010presidentiables.wordpress.com. Retrieved January 3, 2012,

from wordpress.com: http://2010presidentiables.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/amendments-
to-house-bill-4244-consolidated-reproductive-health-bill/
Genove, M. C. (2011, September 23). The RH Bill. Retrieved December 28, 2011, from
beta.su.edu.ph: http://beta.su.edu.ph/article/267-The-RH-Bill
Odchimar, N. P. (2011). Choosing Life, Rejecting the RH Bill. What you need to know about RH
bill, 1-5.
Ranada, F. M. (1996). The Philippine Population Program's Sex Education Agenda. In Voices for
Life : A pro - life handbook for asia (pp. 40-52). Manila: Human Life International - Asia.
Socrates, D. M. (2011). The Sanctity of Family and Life: Natural - Law Thinking in the
Constitution. 1-24.
The Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2011,
House Bill No. 4244, 15th Congress., 1st session. (2011).
Villamor, A. A. (2011, March 24). Varistarian. Retrieved December 20, 2011, from
varistarian.net: http://www.varsitarian.net/breaking_news/20110324/junk_rh_bill_
%E2%80%93_ust
APPENDIX
APPENDIX A: SURVEY
University of Santo Tomas

Espaa, Manila
Good day! We, the Legal Management students of the University of Santo Tomas, would
like to conduct a survey regarding the stand and perceptions of the students on Reproductive
Health Bill. This survey would help the researchers to find answers to certain questions regarding
the bill mentioned.
We will treat your responses with utmost confidentiality. We highly appreciate your time
and effort in answering the survey.
Age: ____ Sex: ___ College: ________________
DIRECTION: Put a check beside your answer.
1. Are you aware that there is a measure in the House of Representatives pushing for
____ Yes ____ No
2. Are you aware that the administrators of the University of Santo Tomas have released a
position opposing the Reproductive Health Bill?
____ Yes ____ No
(if yes, proceed to question number 3)
3. Please choose one from the following means by which you got or sought information
regarding the position paper.
____ The Varsitarian
____ From my classmates
____ From my professors
____ The Central Student Council
____ The Local Student Council
____ From the media
4. Do you support the position of the administrators of the University of Santo Tomas opposing
the Reproductive Health Bill?
____ Yes
____ No
____ I dont know enough to make a stand
(if yes, proceed to question number 5)

5. Please choose four (4) reasons why you oppose the RH Bill.
____ My professor told me to oppose the bill
____ The bill is unconstitutional
____ My friends oppose the bill
____ My Church opposes the bill
____ The bill promotes premarital sex and abortion
____ The bill promotes a pre-disposed family size
____ The bill does not directly address poverty
____ My family opposes the bill
____ The media has convinced me to oppose the bill
(if no, proceed to question number 6)
6. Please indicate the reasons why you do not support the position of the administrators of UST.
7. If provided with new information regarding the Reproductive Health Bill, are you open to
changing your position regarding the issue?
____ Yes, I am open to change my view on the issue.
____ No, I have made my decision to support/oppose the RH Bill.
8. Do you believe that the RH bill is an infringement of public health and morals?
____ Yes
____ No
____ I do not know enough about the bill
9. Do you believe that reproductive health and sexuality education must be integrated to the
secondary education bill?
____ Yes
____ No
____ I do not know enough about the bill
10. Do you believe that the house of representative should focus its energies to pass the RH bill?
____ Yes, the house must focus its energies to pass the RH bill
____ No, the house must focus its energies to pass other important bills.
APPENDIX B: TABLE FROM SPSS
Are you aware that there is a measure in the House of Representatives pushing for
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 164 82.0 82.0 82.0
No 36 18.0 18.0 100.0
Total 200 100.0 100.0
Are you aware that the administrators of the University of Santo Tomas has released a
position opposing the Reproductive Health Bill?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 148 74.0 74.0 74.0
No 52 26.0 26.0 100.0
Total 200 100.0 100.0
Please choose one (1) from the following means by which you got or sought information
regarding the position paper.
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid The Varsitarian 108 72.97 72.97 72.97
From my classmates 12 8.11 8.11 81.08
From my professors 9 6.08 6.08 87.16
The Central Student 5 3.38 3.38 90.54
Council
The Local Student 3 2.03 2.03 92.57
Council
From the media 11 7.43 7.43 100.0
Total 148 100.0 100.0
Do you support the position of the administrators of the University of Santo Tomas
opposing the Reproductive Health Bill?
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative
Percent
Valid Yes 102 Frequency
51.0 Percent
51.0 51.0
No Valid My professor told me94to 47.0 20 47.04.9 98.0
oppose
I dont know enough to the bill 4 2.0 2.0 100.0
make a stand The bill is 45 11.03
Total unconstitutional 200 100.0 100.0
My friends oppose the 44 10.78
bill
My church opposes the 102 25.0
bill
The bill promotes 102 25.0
premarital sex and
abortion
The bill promotes a pre- 62 15.20
disposed family size
The bill does not directly
10 2.45
address poverty
My family opposes the 15 3.68
bill
The media has convinced 8 1.96
Please choose me to oppose the bill four (4)
reasons why Total 408 100.0 you oppose
the RH Bill.
Please indicate the reasons why you do not support the position of the administrators of
UST
Cumulative
Valid USTs stand is not 42 44.68 44.68 44.68
realistic
Media 28 29.79 29.79 74.47
My family supports the 13 13.83 13.83 88.3
bill 11 11.70 11.70 100.0
Others
Total 94 100.0 100.0
If provided with new information regarding the Reproductive Health Bill, are you open
to changing your position regarding the issue?
Cumulative
Valid Yes, I am open to change 46 23.0 23.0 23.0
my view
No, I have made my 154 77.0 77.0 100.0
decision
Total 200 100.0 100.0
Do you believe that the RH bill is an infringement of public health and morals?
Cumulative
Valid Yes 96 48.0 48.0 48.0
No 82 41.0 41.0 89.0
I dont know enough 22 11.0 11.0 100.0
about the bill
Total 200 100.0 100.0
Do you believe that the reproductive health and sexuality education must be integrated
to the secondary education bill?
Cumulative
Valid Yes 92 46.0 46.0 46.0
No 86 43.0 43.0 89.0
I dont know enough 22 11.0 11.0 100.0
about the bill
Total 200 100.0 100.0
Do you believe that the house of representative should focus its energies to pass the RH
bill?
Cumulative
Valid Yes, the house 68 34.0 34.0 34.0
must focus its
energies to pass
the RH bill
No, the house 132 66.0 66.0 100.0
must focus its
energies to pass
other impt. bills
Total 200 100.0 100.0
Social contract theory of ethics
http://lms1.accaglobal.com/CourseImports/AccaProfessionalEthics/www/WhatIsEthics/SocialContractTh
eory.html
Moral relativism is the position that moral truth is relative to an individual or a group. Social moral relativism is a more
precise position claiming that moral truth is relative to social groups. For example, some social moral relativists believe that
moral truth is relative to the values and norms of cultural groups.
http://www.ehow.com/facts_7352425_social-moral-relativism-theory-ethics.html
Moral sense theory (also known as sentimentalism) is a view in meta-ethics according to which morality is somehow
grounded in moral sentiments or emotions. Some take it to be primarily a view about the nature of moral facts or moral
beliefs (a primarily metaphysical view)---this form of the view more often goes by the name "sentimentalism".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_sense_theory

Final Thesis RH Bill

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Students Taking Sides...

in almost every century.

HB 04244: Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill

HB 04244, also known as AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A COMPREHENSIVE POLICY ON

RESPONSIBLE PARENTHOOD, REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, AND POPULATION

entitled: AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A NATIONAL POLICY ON REPRODUCTIVE

HEALTH, RESPONSIBLE PARENTHOOD AND POPULATION DEVELOPMENT, AND

FOR OTHER PURPOSES; HB 00101, as introduced by Representative Janette Garin, entitled:

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A NATIONAL POLICY ON REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND

POPULATION DEVELOPMENT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES; HB 00513, as introduced

NATIONAL POLICY ON REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND POPULATION

DEVELOPMENT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES; HB 01160, as introduced by

Representative Rodolfo Biazon, entitled: AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A NATIONAL POLICY

ON REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES; HB 01520, as introduced

by Representative Augusto Syjuco, entitled: AN ACT TO PROTECT THE RIGHT OF THE

PEOPLE TO INFORMATION ON REPRODUCTIVE HEALTHCARE; and HB 03387, as

introduced by Representatives Luzviminda Ilagan and Emerenciana De Jesus, entitled: AN ACT

PROVIDING FOR A NATIONAL POLICY ON REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH FOR WOMEN IN

DEVELOPMENT AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

foundations of the bill, namely:

reproductive health by all persons, particularly of parents, couples and women,

womens empowerment as a health and human rights concern; and

and education thereon.

children and their full human development, and responsible parenting;

medically safe and legal;

equitable allocation and utilization of resources, of programs that ensure effective

implementation, coordination, integration, monitoring, and evaluation of people-centered

programs to enhance quality of life, of programs that conduct studies to analyze

demographic trends towards sustainable human development, and of programs that

methods of reproductive health care development;

health information, care, and supplies;

8. Promotion of active participation by non-government organizations and communities in

especially the women;

9. The humane, non-judgmental, and compassionate treatment and counseling of women

needing care for post-abortion complications;

10. The absence of demographic or population targets;

11. Promotion of gender equality and women empowerment;

and the marginalized; and

needs of the people throughout their life cycle.

care services for every 500,000 citizens;

coverage for the cost of family planning;

3. The inclusion of family planning supplies to the list of essential medicines;

4. The provision of PHILHEALTH maximum benefits to all serious and life-threatening

reproductive tract cancers, obstetric conditions, and menopausal and post-menopausal

5. The introduction of age-appropriate, Reproductive Health and Sexuality Education in the

formal and non-formal education curriculum; and

6. The introduction of a Certificate of Compliance, to be issued by the local Population

Office, as part of the essential requirements of a marriage license;

Senators Pia Compaera Cayetano and Miriam Defensor-Santiago.

Statement of the Problem

This study shall answer the following questions:

Letters regarding Reproductive Health Bill?

Scope and Limitation

Review of Related Literature

integration, monitoring, and evaluation of people-centered programs to enhance quality of life

and environmental protection.

Republic of the Philippines, which state:

support of the Government.

consciousness among them.

cancer. Contraceptives are hazardous to a womans health. (Odchimar, 2011)

Safe sex to prevent HIV /AIDS is false propaganda.(Odchimar, 2011)

and worth of human life. (Odchimar,2011)

causes of poverty and not population. (Odchimar, 2011)