Religion Says NO to RH Bill

Editorial News

The country of the Philippines is rich in culture and has a range of religions that is
why Filipinos are huge supporters of their churches. In Philippines you are criticized
when you do things that are immoral or act that defies the scriptures, but this is because
of the peoples’ beliefs that they have absorbed on their religion. Religion teaches people
to act according to its morals and for them to be righteous.

Philippines is also a country with a growing population that keeps increasing

every year which is good if the country is a developed country but bad because the
country is still trying to improve. Many Filipino parents produce many children because
of the lack of knowledge for reproduction that causes shortage of food because there is
no budget or because of poverty. Because of shortage, parents of poor families are
forced to work abroad or abandon their children or even kill their own child. A very
common problem in the country is also the growing population of teenage pregnancy,
this is also happening because they have no proper sex education which causes
miscarriages and abortion. So to prevent overpopulation and unhealthy reproduction,
the Government introduced RH Bill to Filipinos.

What is this so called RH Bill? Senate Bill No. 2865, known as “The Republic
Health Act of 2011” was introduced on June 6, 2011 by Senator Pia Cayetano to the
Senate of the Philippines that serves as an act in providing National Policy to the
Reproductive Health of Filipinos, and the Population and Development of the country,
Philippines. The said bill was also presented to the House of Representatives of the
country by Senator Edcel Lagman in the year 2012, which is an act providing
Comprehensive Policy on Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and
Population and Development and for other purposes also, and was signed by the late
Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago as the Republic Act No. 10354 of the Philippines.
This act is to encourage parents to integrate family planning and to have a responsible
parenthood by using effective methods of family planning, both natural and modern, that
are legally and medically safe.

But the church says NO to this law. First is because the methods are immoral,
because it supports post-abortion that disregards the sixth commandment of the Bible.
Second, it is a violation of free choice and conscience, which is also one of the
teachings of the church, to be righteous, to choose what is right and is not injustice.
Last, it creates a religious persecution.

In an open-minded kind of way, the Government just wants to promote sensible

parenthood to its people to avoid overpopulation, because overpopulation causes
poverty, job-deficiency and scarcity of resources. Yes, abortion is wrong, but avoiding
the stigma, which RH Bill is really all about, is good, also it is a legal way and is made a
law by the Government. Churches should also not only look to the actions of their
members but also help their country, together with their members, progress.