PH population control law gets SC’s green light

The single, most divisive issue in contemporary Philippine history—the passage of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012—had its sequel three weeks ago when the Supreme Court of the Philippines, following a number of challenges to the law, declared it “not unconstitutional” after striking down eight items.

The RH Law, as it is popularly known, took more than 13 years to pass through Congress, and was finally railroaded through by the newly-elected President Benigno Aquino. It does not legalize contraceptives in the Philippines; that happened decades ago. What’s new is that it makes contraception a public health service and birth control an official ideology.