It is really very interesting to see your friends post their arguments (for and against) the RH Bill in Facebook and Twitter. Some have very intelligent arguments, some are creative and some are plain dumb. But whatever their inclinations are, they still remain your friends and as good moral beings (Christians or otherwise), we can only pray (or wish) for everyone (those who are right and those who say they are right and the others are wrong, etc) that we will all always be enlightened by the Truth.
The real issue which the Catholic Church is
against is not the giving out of contraceptives or condoms (these are already widespread
available in the country...however, one can always argue why do we have to
allot public funds for sexual activity/pleasure). Of course, this is the
easiest one to tackle. In the first place, even if the Church says that it is sinful to use contraceptives, the final verdict is left to the person who has the free will and the intellect to act rationally.
The main and deeper issue I
think is: to what extent can government interfere with the private decisions of
the family and the person (principle of subsidiarity?). This is also the same argument by Sen. Kit Tatad in an article a few days ago. (So his is more original than mine by virtue of publication date.) The RH Bill may seem harmless at first but it
might be a start of something else (future legislation?) in the future. We can stuff the whole country with all sorts of condoms and contraceptives and Grade5-12 sex education for all I care, but will it improve reproductive health and the quality of family life? I doubt it. Look at the other countries who have done it decades ago! The contraceptive mentality is irreversible ... or maybe, one has done research to prove that the Filipino mentality is different from the rest of humanity (only in the Philippines!) ... I hope this is the case for the better! Or maybe there is a steady-state solution to the geometric increase of the population?
Moreover, Sec. 28 of the RH Bill 2011 edition
might put the practicing Catholic and even the Catholic hospitals and charities
in a quandary similar to the objections of the US Bishops to Obamacare as it
relates to freedom of conscience… and freedom of conscience is not just for
Catholics. It is really ironic to see that a bill
which purports to give free choice to the people is also the same bill that
will deny a conscientious Catholic no choice. If you are not a practicing Catholic you wouldn't care less any which way, duh!
If one considers that there are less than 1000 maternal deaths due to abortion yearly in the Philippines and more than 50,000 from heart disease, one wonders why the Congress is not prioritizing primary health care. If the government is willing to give out PhP20 condoms for free (not that I bought one :-), why cannot it give out the same amount for a calcium blocker for free to manage high blood pressure? ...or free medicines to treat, manage and prevent TB, pneumonia, diabetes, hepatitis, etc...? ... and to upgrade medical facilities especially in the countryside ... and to increase the salaries and enhance the training of medical services workers? Probably, no perceived enemies or no foreign sponsors?
Image from: http://www.wallpapergate.com/wallpaper958.html
As Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his book "Jesus of Nazareth", we always put God to a test if only to prove to ourselves that God really exists.
