The Philippine Reproductive Health Bill-Where Do You Stand?

Knowing the details of the proposed law is essential in having a healthy debate on the issue. Here are the pertinent details of the
proposed bill, which was introduced during a session of the current Congress by Honorable Edcel C. Lagman, Janette L. Garin, Narcio
D. SantiagoIII, Mark Llandro Mendoza, Ana Teresa Hontiveros-Baraquel and Elandro Jesus F. Madrona, and provides as follows:
Guiding Principles. – This Act declares the following as basic guiding principles: a. In the promotion of reproductive health, there
should be no bias for either modern or natural methods of family planning; b. Reproductive health goes beyond a demographic target
because it is principally about health and rights; c. Gender equality and women empowerment are central elements of reproductive
health and population development; d. Effective reproductive health care services must be given primacy to ensure the birth and
care of healthy children and to promote responsible parenting; e. The limited resources of the country cannot be suffered to, be
spread so thinly to service a burgeoning multitude that makes the allocations grossly inadequate and effectively meaningless; f.
Freedom of informed choice, which is central to the exercise of any right, must be fully guaranteed by the State like the right itself; g.
Free and full access to relevant, adequate and correct information on reproductive health and human sexuality guided by qualified
State workers and professional private practitioners; h. Reproductive health, including the promotion of breastfeeding, must be the
joint concern of the National Government and Local Government Units (LGUs); i. Protection and promotion of gender equality, women
empowerment and human rights, including reproductive health rights, are imperative; j. Development is a multi-faceted process that
calls for the coordination and integration of policies, plans, programs and projects that seek to uplift the quality of life of the people,
more particularly the poor, the needy and the marginalized; k. Active participation by and thorough consultation with concerned non-
government organizations (NGOs), people’s organizations (Pos) and communities are imperative to ensure that basic policies, plans,
programs and projects address the priority needs of stakeholders;

l. Respect for, protection and fulfillment of reproductive health rights seek to promote not only the rights and welfare of adult
individuals and couples but those of adolescents’ and children’s as well; and m. The government shall ensure that women seeking
care for post-abortion complications shall be treated and counseled in a humane, non-judgmental and compassionate manner.
Contraceptives as Essential Medicines. – Hormonal contraceptives, intrauterine devices, injectables and other allied reproductive
health products and supplies shall be considered under the category of essential medicines and supplies which shall form part of the
National Drug Formulary and the same shall be included in the regular purchase of essential medicines and supplies of all national
and local hospitals and other government health units. Mandatory Age-Appropriate Reproductive Health Education. Reproductive
Health Education in an age-appropriate manner shall be taught by adequately trained teachers starting from Grade 5 up to Fourth
Year High School. The implementation of Reproductive Health Education shall commence at the start of the school year one year
following the effectivity of this Act. The POPCOM, in coordination with the Department of Education, shall formulate the Reproductive
Health Education curriculum, which shall be common to both public and private schools and shall include related population and
development concepts in addition to the following subjects and standards: Reproductive health and sexual rights; Reproductive
health care and services; Attitudes, beliefs and values on sexual development, sexual behavior and sexual health; Proscription and
hazards of abortion and management of post-abortion complications; Responsible parenthood; Use and application of natural and
modern family planning methods to promote reproductive health, achieve desired family size and prevent unwanted, unplanned and
mistimed pregnancies; Abstinence before marriage; Prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and other, STIs/STDs, prostate cancer,
breast cancer, cervical cancer and other gynecological disorders; Responsible sexuality; and Maternal, pre-natal and post-natal
education, care and services. Additional Duty of Family Planning 0ffice. – Each local Family Planning Office shall furnish for free
instructions and information on family planning, responsible parenthood, breastfeeding and infant nutrition to all applicants for
marriage license. Certificate of Compliance. – 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 certifying that they had duly received adequate
instructions and information on family planning, responsible parenthood, breastfeeding and infant nutrition. Ideal Family Size. – The
State shall assist couples, parents and individuals to achieve their desired family size within the context of responsible parenthood for
sustainable development and encourage them to have two children as the ideal family size. Attaining the ideal family size is neither
mandatory nor compulsory. No punitive action shall be imposed on parents having more than two children.

COMMENTARIES CATHOLIC CHURCH POSITION The Catholic Church has been very vocal in disagreeing with the proposed bill and in
the process of obtaining peoples signatures to block the passage of the bill in Congress. They are in the belief that passage of the
proposed bill will give children proper knowledge and training in Reproductive Health which would surely contribute to more cases of
abortion. While the proposed bill endeavor to consider the present world problem of population growth, they believe that this should
not be remedied through the introduction of the bill as natural use of birth control can still be considered the best approach to
population control without resorting DR.ϖto abortion or blocking human right to life. DOCTORS’ POSITION MARIA FIDELIS MANALO,
MSc. Bioethics Lecturer Hospice and Palliative Care, Department of Community & Family Medicine Far Eastern University-NRMF
Medical Center Fairview, Quezon City, Philippines Though I am very much for educating the public regarding maternal care, prenatal
care and postnatal care, and I would definitely want to see a decrease in maternal morbidity and mortality, I believe there are better
ways of doing it. The end does not justify the means. There are more legitimate and more effective ways of promoting responsible
parenthood. The use of artificial methods of family planning is not completely effective in preventing fertilization or the formation of
the zygote. Hence, some artificial contraceptives are actually abortifacient. At the same time. these cannot totally protect users from
sexually transmitted diseases. These may also harm the body in numerous ways. In the natural order, human life is a gift that is so
great and so full of possibilities that everyone should value it. Man is not the absolute owner of life; he is but its steward. However,
man has the right to self-determination, making his choices based on the good and the truth, always in keeping with Natural Moral
Law. This means that neither the State nor society nor any individual has the right to dictate to anyone on how to practice
responsible parenthood, especially if the options go against their conscience and/or religious beliefs and convictions. With regards to
sex education, children have different levels of emotional maturity and sex education is proper of parents. In order to prevent
unwarranted curiosity and correct the misconceptions, sex should never be considered taboo, but should be discussed by the parents
with the children with delicateness and sensitivity. The bill wants to uplift the quality of life of the people, to increase the share of
each Filipino in the nation’s resources, and to eliminate poverty. However, the solution to poverty is development and not population
control. Without many people realizing it, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and the United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA) are usually behind the promotion of these RH bills around the world. These are leading advocates of sexual and
reproductive health and rights for all. What they do include the 5 As (Access, Adolescents, Advocacy, AIDS/HIV and Abortion.) There
are traces of eugenics in these and may actually be anti-poor rather than propoor. The reproductive health bill does not actually solve
the problem; it may actually cause more predicaments. Since the contraceptive mentality (I can’t have or I don’t want this child) is
already there, if the contraceptives fail, people may just consider having an abortion.
 DR. NIMFA BARIA Departmentϖ of Anesthesiology FEU-NRMF Medical Center Fairview, Quezon City, Philippines The Reproductive
health bill is a departure from the current system and a step forward to improve the quality of life. It is important that this bill should
focus on the interest of the people and will not result in a demographic target wherein promotions will be used to entice people in
availing the services for population control. It is not true that there will be abundant resources if we control the population; proper
management of the resources is the key. The reproductive health bill should go beyond the demographic data and ensure the
delivery of quality health care services by proper implementation. This bill endorses the education on and access to both natural and
artificial family planning techniques. It enables women and couples to have the liberty of informed choice on the manner of family
planning they prefer according to their needs and personal beliefs. Although it may decrease unwanted pregnancies and teen
pregnancies, there may be a possibility of having more promiscuous teenagers. The proposed law is just a guideline and what is more
important is the implementation. As long as there will be proper execution of the law, this bill will not be a prelude to abortion.

THE BILL IS NATIONAL IN SCOPE, COMPREHENSIVE, rights-based and provides adequate funding to the population program. It is a
departure from the present setup in which the provision for reproductive health services is devolved to local government units, and
consequently, subjected to the varying strategies of local government executives and suffers from a dearth of funding.The
reproductive health (RH) bill promotes information on and access to both natural and modern family planning methods, which are
medically safe and legally permissible. It assures an enabling environment where women and couples have the freedom of informed
choice on the mode of family planning they want to adopt based on their needs, personal convictions and religious beliefs.The bill
does not have any bias for or against either natural or modern family planning. Both modes are contraceptive methods. Their
common purpose is to prevent unwanted pregnancies.The bill will promote sustainable human development. The UN stated in 2002
that “family planning and reproductive health are essential to reducing poverty.” The Unicef also asserts that “family planning could
bring more benefits to more people at less cost than any other single technology now available to the human race.”Coverage of RH.
(1) Information and access to natural and modern family planning (2) Maternal, infant and child health and nutrition (3) Promotion of
breast feeding (4) Prevention of abortion and management of post-abortion complications (5) Adolescent and youth health (6)
Prevention and management of reproductive tract infections, HIV/AIDS and STDs (7) Elimination of violence against women (8)
Counseling on sexuality and sexual and reproductive health (9) Treatment of breast and reproductive tract cancers (10) Male
involvement and participation in RH; (11) Prevention and treatment of infertility and (12) RH education for the youth.Strengthening of
Popcom. The existing Population Commission shall be reoriented to promote both natural and modern family planning methods. It
shall serve as the central planning, coordinating, implementing and monitoring body for the comprehensive and integrated policy on
reproductive health and population development.Capability building of community-based volunteer workers. The workers shall
undergo additional and updated training on the delivery of reproductive healthcare services and shall receive not less than 10-
percent increase in honoraria upon successful completion of training.Midwives for skilled birth attendance. Every city and
municipality shall endeavor to employ an adequate number of midwives and other skilled attendants.Emergency obstetrics care.
Each province and city shall endeavor to ensure the establishment and operation of hospitals with adequate and qualified personnel
that provide emergency obstetrics care.Hospital-based family planning. Family planning methods requiring hospital services like
ligation, vasectomy and IUD insertion shall be available in all national and local government hospitals.Contraceptives as essential
medicines. Reproductive health products shall be considered essential medicines and supplies and shall form part of the National
Drug Formulary considering that family planning reduces the incidence of maternal and infant mortality.Reproductive health
education. RH education in an age-appropriate manner shall be taught by adequately trained teachers from Grade 5 to 4th year high
school. As proposed in the bill, core subjects include responsible parenthood, natural and modern family planning, proscription and
hazards of abortion, reproductive health and sexual rights, abstinence before marriage, and responsible sexuality.Certificate of
compliance. 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. The document should certify that they had duly received adequate instructions and
information on family planning, responsible parenthood, breast feeding and infant nutrition.Ideal family size. The State shall
encourage two children as the ideal family size. This is neither mandatory nor compulsory and no punitive action may be imposed on
couples having more than two children.Employers’ responsibilities. Employers shall respect the reproductive health rights of all their
workers. Women shall not be discriminated against in the matter of hiring, regularization of employment status or selection for
retrenchment. Employers shall provide free reproductive health services and commodities to workers, whether unionized or
unorganized.Multimedia campaign. Popcom shall initiate and sustain an intensified nationwide multimedia campaign to raise the level
of public awareness on the urgent need to protect and promote reproductive health and rights.

Gender roles are "socially and culturally defined prescriptions and beliefs about the behavior and emotions of men and women"
(Anselmi and Law 1998, p. 195). Many theorists believe that perceived gender roles form the bases for the development of gender
identity. Prominent psychological theories of gender role and gender identity development include evolutionary theory (Buss 1995;
Shields 1975), object-relations theory (Chodorow 1989), gender schema theory (Bem 1981, 1993) and social role theory (Eagly
1987).Evolutionary theories of gender development are grounded in genetic bases for differences between men and women.
Functionalists (e.g., Shields 1975) propose that men and women have evolved differently to fulfill their different and complementary
functions, which are necessary for survival. Similarly, sociobiologists (e.g., Buss 1995) suggest that behavioral differences between
men and women stem from different sexual and reproductive strategies that have evolved to ensure that men and women are able to
efficiently reproduce and effectively pass on their genes. These evolutionary-based theories share similarities with the essentialist
and maximalist perspectives discussed previously.In contrast, object-relations theorists focus on the effects of socialization on gender
development. For example, Nancy Chodorow (1989) emphasizes the role of women as primary caregivers in the development of sex
differences. Chodorow asserts that the early bond between mother and child affects boys and girls differently. Whereas boys must
separate from their mothers to form their identities as males, girls do not have to endure this separation to define their identities as
females. Chodorow (1989) explains that the devalued role of women is a product of the painful process men undergo to separate
themselves from the female role.Gender schema theory (Bem 1981) focuses on the role of cognitive organization in addition to
socialization. This theory postulates that children learn how their cultures and/or societies define the roles of men and women and
then internalize this knowledge as a gender schema, or unchallenged core belief. The gender schema is then used to organize
subsequent experiences (Bem 1993). Children's perceptions of men and women are thus an interaction between their gender
schemas and their experiences. Eventually, children will incorporate their own self-concepts into their gender schema and will
assume the traits and behaviors that they deem suitable for their gender.Alice Eagly (1987) offers yet another explanation of gender
development that is based on socialization. Eagly's social role theory suggests that the sexual division of labor and societal
expectations based on stereotypes produce gender roles. Eagly (1987) distinguishes between the communal and agentic dimensions
of gender-stereotyped characteristics. The communal role is characterized by attributes, such as nurturance and emotional
expressiveness, commonly associated with domestic activities, and thus, with women. The agentic role is characterized by attributes
such as assertiveness and independence, commonly associated with public activities, and thus, with men. Behavior is strongly
influenced by gender roles when cultures endorse gender stereotypes and form firm expectations based on those stereotypes (Eagly
1987).

Read more: Gender - Gender Roles And Stereotypes - Theory, Family, Development, Women, Theory, Fulfill, Children, Development,
and Eagly http://family.jrank.org/pages/686/Gender-Gender-Roles-Stereotypes.html#ixzz1E01RkUcn

As Eagly suggests, gender roles are closely linked with gender stereotypes. Stereotypes are "overgeneralized beliefs about people
based on their membership in one of many social categories" (Anselmi and Law 1998, p. 195). Gender stereotypes vary on four
dimensions: traits, role behaviors, physical characteristics, and occupations (Deaux and Lewis 1983). For example, whereas men are
more likely to be perceived as aggressive and competitive, women are more likely to be viewed as passive and cooperative.
Traditionally, men have been viewed as financial providers, whereas women have been viewed as caretakers. Physical characteristics
and occupations have also been considered consistent or inconsistent with masculine or feminine roles.Traditional gender
stereotypes are most representative of the dominant (white, middle-class) culture. Hope Landrine (1999) asserts that although race
and social class may not be mentioned when inquiring about gender stereotypes, most people will make assumptions about these
categories. Her research suggests that when race and social classes are specified, different gender stereotypes emerge.Gender roles
and stereotypes affect couple and family interaction. Often, for example, the division of household labor is based on gender.
Traditionally, white women in heterosexual couples remained at home and completed most of the domestic labor, while their male
partners worked outside the home to provide the family income. Although women have increasingly joined the workforce over the
past thirty years, they continue to do the majority of the household labor. Lawrence Kurdek (1993) studied white, heterosexual, gay,
and lesbian couples without children. He found that heterosexual and gay couples were more likely than lesbian couples to divide
household labor so that one partner did the majority of the work. Lesbian couples were most likely to share domestic tasks or take
turns doing the tasks (Kurdek 1993).Gender roles often become more differentiated when men and women become parents. Overall,
women provide more direct care for and spend more time with children (Walzer 2001). This care includes taking responsibility for the
mental work of gathering and processing information about infant care, delegating the tasks related to infant care, and worrying
about infant health and well-being. In sum, the unequal division of both household labor and childcare, with women doing the bulk of
the work, is thought to contribute to the reported lower marital satisfaction for women (Walzer 2001).Gender roles and stereotypes
affect men and women in other ways. Specifically, men and women may be judged by how well they conform to traditional
stereotypes. In his theory of masculine gender role strain, Joespech Pleck (1976) asserted that boys and men are pressured to fulfill a
standard of masculinity. Boys and men, for example, who do not fulfill the standard often suffer from low self-worth (Pleck;
Sonnenstein; and Ku1993). Other lifelong consequences befall men who experience traumatic socialization practices such as rites of
passage that entail violence. Even men who successfully fulfill the standard of masculinity suffer psychologically or emotionally from
rigid constraints on acceptable parenting roles for men (Pleck; Sonnonstein; and Ku 1993). Richard Lazur and Richard Majors (1995)
contend that gender role strain is pronounced with men of color. Men of color must balance the dominant standards of masculinity
with their cultures' standards of masculinity in an effort to fulfill both satisfactorily. In addition, men of color must overcome prejudice
and other obstacles to fulfill the standards of masculinity. The result is increased gender role strain for men of color (Lazur and Majors
1995). Likewise, white women and women of color may be constrained by standards of femininity, such as the pressure to have
children.Gender stereotypes can also affect men's and women's performance. Stereotype threat is defined as "an individual's
awareness that he or she may be judged by or may self-fulfill negative stereo-types about her or his gender or ethnic group" (Lips
2001, p. 33). Research indicates that stereo-type threat can negatively affect performance by increasing anxiety. For example,
Steven Spencer, Claude Steele, and Diane Quinn (1999) found that women performed significantly worse than men on a math test
when the participants were led to believe that the test would probably produce gender differences. In contrast, women and men
performed equally well when the participants were led to believe that the test did not produce gender differences. These findings
suggest that negative stereotypes can and do negatively affect performance even when the stereotype has not been internalized or
incorporated into the view of the self.

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and Eagly http://family.jrank.org/pages/686/Gender-Gender-Roles-Stereotypes.html#ixzz1E01bhVKy

The existence of free choice: defined Church teaching

A central truth of divine revelation is that human persons, created in the image and likeness of God, have the power of free choice. In
order to create beings to whom he could give his very own life, God created persons (angelic and human) who have the power to
make or break their own lives by their own free choices. Persons are of themselves, sui iuris, i.e., in their own power or dominion.
Their choices and actions are their own, not the choices and actions of others. If the Triune God’s offer of his own life and friendship is
to be a gift, it must be freely received; it cannot be forced on others or settled by anything other than the free choice of the God who
freely gives himself and the free choices of created persons who freely accept this gift.The truth that human persons have the
capacity to determine themselves and their lives through their own free choices is integral to Catholic faith. As the Catechism of the
Catholic Church declares:God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his
own actions. “God willed that man should be ‘left in the hand of his own counsel’ (see Sir 15:14), so that he might of his own accord
seek his Creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him” (no. 1730; the internal citation is from Vatican
Council II, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World [Gaudium et spes], no. 17).The power of free choice, which
Vatican Council II hailed as “an exceptional sign of the divine image within man” (Gaudium et spes, no. 17), is clearly affirmed by
Scripture, the Fathers of the Church, and the whole Catholic tradition. In a beautiful passage cited by Pope John Paul II in his
Encyclical Veritatis splendor, the great Greek Father, St. Gregory of Nyssa, eloquently described human freedom of choice as our
power to “create ourselves,” as it were:All things subject to change and to becoming never remain constant, but continually pass
from one state to another, for better or worse….Now human life is always subject to change; it needs to be born ever anew….But
here birth does not come about by a foreign intervention, as is the case with bodily beings…; it is the result of a free choice. Thus we
are, in a certain way, our own parents, creating ourselves as we will, by our decisions.

Gestalt Principle on Perception

Gestalt theory first arose in 1890 as a reaction to the prevalent psychological theory of the time - atomism. Atomism examined parts
of things with the idea that these parts could then be put back together to make wholes. Atomists believed the nature of things to be
absolute and not dependent on context. Gestalt theorists, on the other hand, were intrigued by the way our mind perceives wholes
out of incomplete elements [1, 2]. "To the Gestaltists, things are affected by where they are and by what surrounds them...so that
things are better described as "more than the sum of their parts."" [1, p. 49]. Gestaltists believed that context was very important in
perception. An essay by Christian von Ehrenfels discussed this belief using a musical example. Take a 12 note melody. Play it in one
key, say the key of C. Now change to another key, say the key of A flat. There might not be any notes the same in the two songs, yet
a person listening to it knows that it is the same tune. It is the relationships between the notes that give us the tune, the whole, not
which notes make up the tune.