Lawrence+Tan+on+RH+Bill

My opinion regrading the RH Bill:

“Ultimately it is a secular issue, it’s a matter of public policy, it should be for all Filipinos. Not just Catholics. People of whatever faith or people of no faith. If they say they’re agnostic or atheistic, the law should serve them.” – Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel on Reproductive Health Bill

While I was researching and reading some facts upon the RH Bill, I couldn't help but notice a seemingly nice quotation by one of the bill's creators, Rep. Risa Hontiveros. Nowadays, I realized that as the issue of the RH Bill is being debated upon by society, the relationship between religion and politics is put on the spotlight. Yes, I believe the RH Bill could put a strain between church and government relations, that is, if it is really an issue. But __I really don't think it is.__

Personally, I think the RH Bill is just a bill that is all style and of no substance. The lawmakers create and push for it, which really troubles me because whatever their motives, it really isn't for the nation as whole. I'm not instantly implying that they are creating this bill to steal money, I'm just saying, whatever it is that their goals are, it isn't for reproductive health. Moreover, they stress that the RH Bill is debated upon because of "difference" in religions when the fact is that religion cannot be a part of a debate which doesn't even exist.


 * A Non-existent Debate**

When debating about the bill, people debate upon morals and ethics, which is right, which is wrong when the fact is that I think they fail to recognize the bigger picture. I think they limit themselves in a box thinking that the bill itself would either cure the problem of population or not, when the fact that is that it can never address these problems because it's too shallow of a thinking. To make things clearer, I can liken the situation the a kid with no homework, you give a completed homework in the form of the bill, but it doesn't necessarily make this kid do his assignment the next time around.


 * The Right Solution**

For all the complex programs about the use of contraceptives, the family planning and all, I am puzzled by the fact they haven't thought of the factor of education. Yes, they thought of having sex education by why not education as a whole? I certainly believe that educations plays a bigger part in population control than any other programs proposed in the RH Bill. As I tried to search the net for statistics which showed how many teenagers who were educated have been pregnant to no avail, I realized that just looking at our own surroundings can answer the question. I mean, as students, how many people or friends or classmates have you heard were pregnant? I think more often than not, it's almost never. I think this perfectly justifies how education as a whole tends to help in controlling the population and maternal health.


 * Education**

Education? But it's too big some may say. But it's the __only way__. We as a nation try to look for shortcuts when the fact is that these efforts just become temporary band aids for our problems. The importance of education doesn't lie in the fact that we learn how to do Math or learn scientific facts, it lies in the that we become sponges and are aware of information. When our society becomes sponges for information, problems such as the population, I think will more or less be solved. While I recognize that this solution is far more expensive than the RH Bill, I also realized that prolonging it just prolongs the problems of our society, let us stop turning to temporary solutions and start building a permanent one for a better future.

Source: http://filipinofreethinkers.org/2009/10/01/how-to-oppose-the-rh-bill/