|
By Efren L. Danao, Senior Reporter
Five line agencies of the government expressed
support on Monday for the reproductive health bills pending before
the Senate, thus openly defying the stand of President Gloria Arroyo
on artificial methods of family planning.
During a public hearing conducted by the Senate
Committee on Health and Demography, the Education, Health and Social
Welfare departments and the Higher Education and Population
commissions all recognized the “urgent” need for a national
policy on reproductive health.
The Senate bills call for state-funded
information on artificial and natural methods of family planning and
access to services after individuals or couples had decided on what
method to adopt. President Arroyo had toed the stand of the Catholic
Church that natural methods are the only acceptable ways and that
artificial ones promote abortion.
“The bills pending in the Senate move away
from the stereotypical idea that women only exist to bear children,
therefore giving light to other aspects of women’s health needs
like the prevention and management of reproductive-tract infections
and other gynecological conditions, elimination of violence against
the sector and sexually-related education and counseling, among
others,” a position paper of the Social-Welfare department said.
Health Undersecretary Mario Verde said the
Health department supports the Senate bills’ calls for responsible
parenthood, complete information on reproductive health and freedom
of choice on size of family.
Non-government agencies also backed the passage
of a law on reproductive health services. Pro-Life Philippines said
the issue of reproductive health boils down to the individual right
of women to phase their children as they deem appropriate and based
on individual circumstances. The group described contraceptives as a
health need. It said health is a human right and so the state should
provide for it.
Former Sen. Francisco Tatad opposed the bills,
saying they are unnecessary and are destructive of public morals and
family values.
“Not only are they hedonistic, they are above
all eugenicists. They seek to eliminate the poor and the socially
unfit while paying lip service to their cause. While they neither
mandate a two-child family nor legalize abortion, they prepare the
ground for both,” Tatad added. Eugenics is the science that deals
with the improvement, as by birth control of human mating, of
hereditary qualities of a race or breed.
Sen. Pia Cayetano, the committee chairman, said
she is willing to impose stiffer sanctions on abortion just to show
that the Senate is against any law that would allow it.
She indicated that her panel would endorse
reproductive health services funded by the state and assured
pro-life groups that this policy is not a state intervention into
bedroom activities.
Cayetano said the Committee on Health would hold
one more hearing before preparing a draft committee report.
|
