Reproductive Health Bill supporters to hold candle lighting rally, forum

CEBU, Philippines - The Pro-Quality Life Training and Development, Inc. will conduct a Mother’s Day Millennium Development Goals Forum and Candle Lighting on Wednesday in support of the Reproductive Health Bill and as tribute to all mothers.

The forum, with a theme “Saving Mother’s Lives: Concerned Catholics Heeding the signs of the Times,” will be held at the Cebu Rajah Hotel. It will discuss among citizens concerned about the five MDGs of the United Nations, in which the country is one of the signatories.

On the same day, Pro-Quality Life will launch the Catholics for Reproductive Health in Cebu (C4RH-Cebu), a group of Catholic faithful that will campaign for the passage of the controversial bill.

The five MDGs that Pro-Quality Life will teach the mothers are eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, gender equality and woman empowerment, reducing child mortality and improving maternal health.

The five MDGs will be used as reasons for the rightful passage of the RH bill which the group sees as pro-mothers and pro-quality living.

Frohnie Cagalitan, Pro-Quality Life secretariat and a medial worker said that they believe that the sanctity and dignity of human life will be mostly respected if people will have a quality life and eradication of the unnecessary high rate of maternal mortality, which the RH bill is offering.

RH bill has certain provisions for the improvement of medical services for mothers in hospitals and other medical facilities.

“We are also against abortion being catholic faithfuls. But we believe that abortion will be avoided if we can successfully prevent unwanted, unintended and unplanned pregnancies which are results of unplanned family life,” Cagalitan stressed.

Cagalitan cited provisions of RH bill where women are given easy access to contraceptives.

She said that they are not against the natural family planning method but are only advocating for a variety of options for couples. “We want the couples to have choices on which best family planning measures to have, either natural or artificial.”

Cagalitan explained that natural family planning is not applicable to all since the wife is required to have a regular menstrual cycle and the couples must be truly determined to deny their sexual needs, among others.

“We believe that a family, however poor it is, can better the lives of its members if only they will learn how to manage and plan,” Cagalitan said. “We are focusing more on educating them on how to plan for their family. Where is the dignity there if we can see their children in streets and we see many living as squatters?”

According to her, the church has made a negative impression of the bill. “Church is advocating for Natural Family Planning but they have not informed the people on how to do it. If they are really sincere, they should have built clinics in every parish where people can be informed of the process.”

The candle lighting will follow after the forum on Wednesday to commemorate the estimated 4,500 Filipino mothers who die every year due to maternal and childbirth related complications. – Jessica Ann R. Pareja/WAB (THE FREEMAN)