Alleged support for RH bill called 'wishful and fanciful'

MANILA, Philippines - The executive director of the Bishops Legislators Caucus of the Philippines (BLCP) has described as “completely wishful and fanciful” a claim attributed to Congressman Edcel Lagman saying that 130 congressmen now support the “patently unconstitutional” House Bill 5043, otherwise known as the Reproductive Health bill.

Fenny C. Tatad said the promoters of the bill “are obviously trying to create some kind of bandwagon effect with their false claim. The truth, however, is that more and more lawmakers have come to realize the moral and constitutional defects of the bill and are not ready to face the electorate next year with a record of having supported a bill that is immoral, unconstitutional and harmful to women.”

A big number of those who had originally supported the RH bill have since withdrawn their support after having been briefed about the moral, constitutional and scientific infirmities of the bill, Tatad said.

Contrary to the claims of RH advocates that the bill promotes women’s health, Tatad said artificial contraceptives have been shown to be harmful to women. They could even prove lethal. The World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer has cited scientific studies that classify certain oral contraceptives as highly carcinogenic.

The studies have shown increased risks to contraceptive users of breast, liver and cervical cancer. Intra-uterine devices which the bill promotes are clearly abortifacient and could create serious health complications for women.

Beyond health risks, the bill compels Catholic taxpayers to fund a birth control program that is opposed to the teachings of their faith. This violates the right to religious freedom, which is guaranteed by the Constitution.

The bill compels schools, private and public, to include family planning education programs in the grade school curriculum starting from Grade 5 to prepare schoolchildren for contraceptive use when they reach reproductive age. This violates the right of parents as the primary educators of their children to educate them according to their moral and religious beliefs. Under this bill, the State will now provide sexual education for minors outside of and contrary to their moral and religious beliefs.

The bill requires conscientious moral objectors to refer cases they reject on moral grounds to other professionals who have no such objections. This violates not only the Constitution but also international standards on conscience protection.

The bill also violates the citizen’s freedom of speech as criticisms against this bill, if it becomes law, could result in the critic’s imprisonment and fines. This usually happens in totalitarian regimes, Tatad pointed out.