Queency D.

Ramos Comm I JQ
2010-68348 Ma. Elinora Peralta- Imson, Ph. D
A Reaction Essay February 23, 2011

Yes To Reproductive Health Bill
The Reproductive Health Bill or popularly known as RH bill is highly
controversial. It has become the center of a national debate between those who
support and oppose it. I am one of its supporters and I believe that RH bill is not anti-
life. It is pro-life. I also believe that misinformation leads to all the negative propaganda
about this bill. The three major facts, I believe, that people should know are, first, the
bill has no bias in supporting or opposing either natural or modern family planning,
second, it does not promote the legalization of abortion and third, it does not impose a
two-child policy.
The bill believes that natural and modern family planning are both
contraceptive methods. I cannot understand why a lot if people still criticize and oppose
this bill while they can also benefit from its aim of guaranteeing universal access to
methods and information on birth control and maternal care. It is very clear that
couples still have the freedom of choosing what family planning method they are going
to adopt. The RH bill does not prohibit pregnancy but its common concern is the
prevention of unwanted pregnancies. Critics are wrong in claiming that the availability
of contraceptives will entirely stop all pregnancies. Its main purpose is to ensure that
children will be considered as blessings by their parents since their births are planned
and wanted. I and other supporters of RH bill are aware of peoples notion that using
contraceptives have life threatening side effects. This can be proved wrong through
medical and scientific evidences showing that all possible medical risks connected with
using contraceptives are infinitely lower than the risks of an actual pregnancy and
everyday activities. For example, studies show that the probability of dying from
condom use is absolutely zero while the risk of dying from a pregnancy is 1 in 10,000.
Contraceptives are also considered as essential medicines along with other reproductive
health products considering the reduction of incidences of maternal and infant
mortality.
The approval of this bill does not mean that abortion would also be legalized. Its
provision regarding the use of contraceptives does not mean that it is in favor of
abortion. Many Catholic countries who promote contraceptives still criminalize abortion
like Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Venezuela. Reproductive Health Bill expressly provides that
abortion is a crime and is punishable. This bill wants to prevent abortion through
implementation of Health Care Program. According to studies, proper and regular usage
of contraceptives reduces abortion rates by as much as 85 %. This is a reason why I
agree on the promotion of this bill about reproductive health education especially on
youth.
The proponents of this bill are primarily concerned about the continuously
growing population of the Philippines making it the 12
th
most populous country in the
world today. People mistakenly claim that the bill imposes a two-child policy. It is true
that this bill recognizes the verifiable link between huge population and poverty but it
does not promote a compulsory and strict policy limiting a family to two children. There
will be no punitive action on parents with more than two children.
The Reproductive Health Bill has a lot of good concerns regarding the huge
population of our country. Despite of its critics, I still support this bill because it is not
bias in opposing or supporting any method of family planning, second, it does not
promote the legalization of abortion and third, it does not limit a family to two children.
People should be enlightened by facts like these so that they will be able to see that the
Reproductive Health Bill is not anti-life but it is pro-life.

References:

Full text of House Bill No. 5043 (Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2008) .
jlp-law.com. <http://jlp-law.com/blog/full-text-of-house-bill-no-5043-reproductive-health-and-
population-development-act-of-2008/>. February 18, 2011.

Lagman, Edcel. (2008) Reproductive health bill: Facts, fallacies. inquirer.net.
<http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/talkofthetown/view/20080803-
152296/Reproductive-health-bill-Facts-fallacies>. February 18, 2011.