A Student's View, RH Law: A Perceptional Recipe

One cup of remedy, one pint of inhibited rights and one gallon of ignorance-these are the perfect ingredients for the Filipinos’ view of the Reproductive Health Law. The remedy for one of our hindrance towards a better country in the view of the Pro-RH, the rights that this law inhibits in the view of the Anti-RH and the ignorance that most Filipinos impart.

Last July 16, 3012, the Supreme Court extended its order stopping the government from implementing the Reproductive Health Law. Voting 8-7, the high court extended the status quo ante order (SQA) it issued for 120 days in March 19. The order was supposed to expire Wednesday. (Courtesy: Philippine Daily Inquirer). So it’ll be another duel between the advocates and the critics of this law, another session of waiting for the implementation and another chance to prove the government wrong.

                The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, commonly known as RH Law is a law, which guarantees universal access to methods on contraception, fertility control, sexual education, and maternal care.

(Image Courtesy: getrealphilippines.com)

                     For the first ingredient, one cup of remedy. In the perception of the Pro-RH, this law will be the solution for our country’s headache. The Filipinos who are in favor of this law are fewer compared to the Anti-RH and the common people who doesn’t care. Here’s 10 reasons from the Filipino Freethinkers saying yes to the RH Law’s implementation.

1.)           RH will: Protect the health & lives of mothers.

2.)           Save babies

3.)           Respond to the majority who want smaller families

4.)           Promote equity for poor families

5.)           Prevent induced abortions

6.)           Support and deploy more public midwives, nurses and doctors

7.)           Guarantee funding for & equal access to health facilities

8.)           Give accurate & positive sexuality education to young people 

9.)           Reduce cancer deaths 

10.)        Save money that can be used for even more social spending

(Image Courtesy: angsawariko.com)

For the second ingredient, one pint of inhibited rights. In every argument we have the opposing side and that is-the Anti RH. The most popular in protesting against it is the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. They propose that this law violates the law of the church about life. One of the reasons is because they say that this law inhibits the child’s rights to be born therefore, killing the child. 

CBCP posted an article in their website entitled “Our Stand on the RH Bill” saying “We do not want the RH Bill to be passed because it condones abortion. The RH bill has provisions for “management of post-abortion complications”. People who have committed the crime of abortion /killed their own children through abortion should be held accountable. Abortion is murder of the unborn child”

(Image Courtesy: philstar.com)

The last ingredient, one gallon of ignorance. Within the three sides, this one has the largest part of the Filipinos’ view about this law. They are the Filipinos who doesn’t care about this law whether if it will be implemented or not. Their ignorance is a burden for our country but at the same time, decreases the inconvenience because instead of bothering to join the debate, they take their own steps towards change.

We will never have the perfect dish to satisfy our appetite for change that we all want. We all want our remedy for our country’s hindrance towards a better country. We all don’t want our rights to be inhibited and we all don’t want to be in a country that will have ignorance as our solution to our problems. Don’t think about what your country will do for you. Think about what you can do for your country.

(Image Courtesy: pinoy-ofw.com)