Reproductive Health Bill in the Philippines

I was able to google this article from the Philippine Star about the controversial bill in Congress which seeks to enact into law a comprehensive Reproductive Health Care Policy for the country which in truth is the institutionalization of contraceptives and eventually abortion. This article will show you how this has become a battleground between the Catholic Church and the Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) which is a hybrid of the Mormon Church and Freemasonry. They do not believe in the Trinity. Only God the Father is God. Christ is divine but human and the Holy Spirit is a free spirit (Lord, they said it not me!) Their doctrines and practices mirror the Mormon's and their discipline in secrecy is like those from Masonry because their self-proclaimed "angel" of a founder, Manalo, was a freemason before he founded his brand of christianity.


Reproductive Health Bill: Battle between Catholic Church and INC

Debates on the controversial reproductive health bill in the House of Representatives will be a showdown between two of the country’s largest and most influential religious sects – the ultra-conservative Catholic Church and the powerful bloc Iglesia ni Cristo. [A sect founded by Felix M. Ysagun. He later changed his name to Felix Y. Manalo, because he feels his name is "prophetic" felix=happy, manalo (tagalo) = victory, ergo Happy Victory. Yeah right.]

The sponsorship speech delivered Wednesday by main author Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, which was a day late after it was blocked by the bill’s critics, was already a show of force between the two groups, as hordes of pro-church and pro-choice attended the session.

Pro-church groups, who have been calling House Bill 5043 (Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Population Development Act of 2008) as “pro-abortion,” wore red T-shirts, while pro-RH advocates donned mostly yellow and violet ones, with pins on.

Those coming from the church have reportedly been herded by Quezon City Rep. Annie Rose Susano, [surprisingly!] who accused Lagman’s supporters of being funded by a well-oiled lobby group, [pharmaceutical companies the same groups who lobbied against the Cheaper Medicine Act] and was even attended by nuns and those from civil groups like the Catholic Women’s League. [the Knights of Columbus were also there! The writer forgot to mention it.]

Lagman’s supporters, apart from the influential INC, included the Reproductive Health Advocacy Network and several non-government organizations that come from academe and civil society groups. [well funded!]

Among those who made known their opposition to the measure are Reps. Pablo Garcia of Cebu, Eduardo Zialcita of Parañaque [he is a 4th degreee Knight of Columbus], Trinidad Apostol of Leyte and Ma. Carissa Coscolluela of party-list Buhay, the sectoral group formed by El Shaddai leader Bro. Mike Velarde. [a powerful charismatic group even bigger in membership than the INC]

“We should protect our people from harmful products and promote health as mandated in our Constitution. Actually we should prevent harmful products, like contraceptive drugs and devices proliferating in the market,” said Zialcita.

Coscolluela, for her part, said passing the measure would “bring about a culture of promiscuity; at worst, a culture of death.”

Lagman’s co-author, Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin, an obstetrician-gynecologist by profession, thanked the INC leadership Thursday for supporting their cause, noting that it is very “important” in determining the fate of House Bill 5043. [This woman is so rabid in her support of the bill. She even said that priests and bishops have no business talking about family planning since they do not have families of their own. Huh?!? So, priests and even pastors do not have a right to talk about heaven and earth because neither have ever been there. Dumb logic.]

Garin said the INC stand could very well determine if the bill gets the numbers to pass in the House of Representatives, where the measure will now be debated on in plenary, and will be discussed and voted on by the chamber’s 240 members. [Because the INC dictates their members who to vote for during the election. They are very open about this yet no one cries foul for their meddling in politics. Catholic bishops decry corruption and they are branded as meddlers. Huh?!? Dumb logic...again.]

The INC declared last Tuesday its support for the RH bill, although it rejected “natural” family planning, including the rhythm method, which they considered as “really contrary to nature.” [Dumb logic...again!]

“INC accepts modern family planning methods or the use of what others call contraceptives as long as they are not abortifacient in nature and they do not impose prolonged abstinence from sexual intercourse among married couples,” spokesman Bienvenido Santiago said. [Because anything that the Catholic Church teaches, the INC will find a way to go up against it. Literally, anything. Watch out for my posts about this pseudo-religion]

Lagman and Garin have repeatedly rectified misconceptions that the RH bill is pro-abortion. “We are strongly against abortion. The RH bill is pro-life and we are pushing for a good quality of life,” Garin insisted. [Huh?!? Dumb logic...again! I wish I had a dollar everytime I hear that!]

Opposition Rep. Roilo Golez of Parañaque, for his part, urged his colleagues yesterday to first attend to the emerging new financial crisis before tackling the controversial Reproductive Health Bill.

“We should fix first the financial crisis, repair the budgeting process, then tackle side issues like reproductive health,” Golez said.

Golez said congressmen should address the adverse impact of the economic crisis in the United States on the local market as one and not be distracted and divided by other issues.

Meantime, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) yesterday said some 4,500 Filipino women die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth every year “because public reproductive health service is not comprehensive enough.”

In its report “Progress for Children: A Report Card on Maternal Mortality,” UNICEF noted that in the Philippines, “too few mothers receive skilled care before, during and after pregnancy and lastly, most mothers do not always have access to quality emergency obstetric care services.” [Not only obstetric care but the entire medical service of the country is all screwed up!]

“Although over 90 percent of Filipino mothers do seek prenatal care, only 60 percent deliver babies with properly trained skilled birth attendants and less than 40 percent deliver either in a public or private health facility,” the report showed.

The report revealed that developing countries account for more than 99 percent of all maternal deaths, with some 84 percent “concentrated in Sub-Saharan and South Asia.”

“The tragic fact is that every year more than half a million women lose their lives as a result of complications due to pregnancy or childbirth… The causes of maternal mortality are clear – as are the means to combat them. Yet women continue to die unnecessarily,” claimed UNICEF Chief of Health Peter Salama. [And contraceptives solve this? Huh?!? Dumb log...Getting tired of this.]

Hemorrhage or bleeding is the most common cause of death, particularly in Africa and Asia.

The report showed that a woman’s overall health, including her nutritional level and HIV status, influences the chances of a positive outcome to pregnancy and childbirth.

The other influences include societal factors, such as poverty, inequity and general attitude towards women and their health. Maternal deaths are also impacted by traditional or cultural practices that often prevent women from seeking delivery or post-partum care.