Rh Bill
The RH Bill
Friday, Sep 23 4:25 PM
NOTE: "Leadership Reflections" shares views of the different members of the University Leadership Council on matters related to campus life and the operations of the University. As well, it features opinions on issues of national and/or international relevance. RH Bill: A Boon or Bane to Society?
By Dr. Maria Cecilia M. Genove, Dean, College of Mass Communication If there is a strong argument on the passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill, it is the ever-growing population of the Philippines. According to the latest statistics on the country’s demographical data, there are now 96 million Filipinos, a considerable increase in the last 10 years or so, or a growth rate of at least four to six percent every year. Translated to more significant data, five to six babies are born in the country every minute, a staggering information considering that the Philippines is, until today, still referred to by its neighboring countries as a developing economy.
Thus, the latest proposed legislation in both the Senate and the House of Representatives has left the Filipino people extremely polarized. A lot of considerations have emerged in several discussions essentially because the staunchest opposition to the passage of the RH Bill comes from the Catholic Church. This is understandable because the Philippines remains to be the only Christian nation in the Far East and with the colonization of Spain for almost four centuries, Catholicism is widespread and prevalent.
Some sectors contend that the RH Bill boils down to the freedom of choice among couples and those who are sexually active. Others reason out that procreation is God’s legacy to His people. On the other hand, women – who bear the brunt of childbirth and its perils – say that they have the right to choose what is best for them, meaning, if their bodies could not withstand the rigors of childbirth, then they have all the right to take care of their own bodies.
Friday, Sep 23 4:25 PM
NOTE: "Leadership Reflections" shares views of the different members of the University Leadership Council on matters related to campus life and the operations of the University. As well, it features opinions on issues of national and/or international relevance. RH Bill: A Boon or Bane to Society?
By Dr. Maria Cecilia M. Genove, Dean, College of Mass Communication If there is a strong argument on the passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill, it is the ever-growing population of the Philippines. According to the latest statistics on the country’s demographical data, there are now 96 million Filipinos, a considerable increase in the last 10 years or so, or a growth rate of at least four to six percent every year. Translated to more significant data, five to six babies are born in the country every minute, a staggering information considering that the Philippines is, until today, still referred to by its neighboring countries as a developing economy.
Thus, the latest proposed legislation in both the Senate and the House of Representatives has left the Filipino people extremely polarized. A lot of considerations have emerged in several discussions essentially because the staunchest opposition to the passage of the RH Bill comes from the Catholic Church. This is understandable because the Philippines remains to be the only Christian nation in the Far East and with the colonization of Spain for almost four centuries, Catholicism is widespread and prevalent.
Some sectors contend that the RH Bill boils down to the freedom of choice among couples and those who are sexually active. Others reason out that procreation is God’s legacy to His people. On the other hand, women – who bear the brunt of childbirth and its perils – say that they have the right to choose what is best for them, meaning, if their bodies could not withstand the rigors of childbirth, then they have all the right to take care of their own bodies.