SOCIETY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE JESUIT COMMUNITY IN THE PHILIPPINE GENERAL HOSPITAL, MANILA Manila, Philippines

THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT IS ISSUED BY THE PREFECT OF THE SODALITY-SOCIETY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, UP MANILA

THAT WE MAY BE ONE...1 The issue of the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill has long been a thorn in the heart of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. The bill has been causing confusion, division and discord even among the most fervent Catholics, brought about by rampant misinformation, indiscriminate lying and conceited rumour-mongering and mudslinging by those who actively support the passage of the bill. The Society-Sodality of the Immaculate Conception in the University of the Philippines Manila, affirming our respect for life, our loyalty to the Holy Father and the teachings of the Church, and putting into use the training of critical thinking and open-mindedness that was instilled in us by the University, vehemently opposes the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill. As students of the national university's "Health Sciences Centre", we are concerned with not a few provisions of the bill. We question the wiseness of including contraceptives in the list of essential medicines when we face the daily reality in the Philippine General Hospital where drugs that cure illness (contraceptives are not medicines) are notable in their absence in this important list. We question the prudence of calling this piece of legislation as the "reproductive health bill" when it barely talks about pre- and post-natal care for women. Six out of ten Filipino women give birth at home, while only three out of ten Filipino women have access to the basic pre-natal care check-ups2. A true comprehensive reproductive health care bill does not see pregnancy as an illness that should be eradicated, but rather as a normal process that many Filipino women goes through. The solution is not contraception- if we really are alarmed by the high maternal3 and infant mortality rate in the country- but wider access to healthcare services not only for women but for all Filipinos.

1 2

John 17:21 www.measuredhs.com/pubs/pdf/FR224/FR224.pdf 3 162 Mothers per 100,000 live birth: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20110515336672/Philippine-docs-probe-nationwide-maternal-death-rate

SOCIETY OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE JESUIT COMMUNITY IN THE PHILIPPINE GENERAL HOSPITAL, MANILA Manila, Philippines

Population control seems to be a major theme in this piece of legislation. We wonder how wise this move is considering that the Philippines was commended by the Hong Kong-Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) as being the 16th largest economy in the world by 2050, thanks to its population and stable workforce4. A large population is not the cause of the unstable economy- we have China and India as the best counterexamples. In fact an aging populationsuch as those being experienced by Singapore, Japan and several European countries have far more possible disastrous outcomes on their economies. It has been bandied many times that the youth are among the biggest stakeholder of the Reproductive Health Bill, what with the fact that thirty percent of all pregnancies in the country are to women below 21 years5. Proponents of this unnecessary piece of legislation say that the passage of RH Bill will significantly reduce the number of teenage pregnancies in the country. However, a recent study conducted by Dr. David Paton, chair of Industrial Economics at the Nottingham University Business School, shows otherwise. A similar program of youth-cantered contraceptive program in the United Kingdom has been implemented since the 1980s, and instead of reducing teenage pregnancies, it only made the situation worse. Dr. Paton noted that the "conceived reduction in perceived risk leads to increased risky behaviour, and combined with contraceptive failure, the net pregnancy rate could only increase6". A lot has already been written debunking the supposed benefits of the Reproductive Health Bill, and it would be unwise to further duplicate them here. What we have proved is how several sectors have been trying to dupe us with false facts and assumptions. The misinformation, gross lying, rumour mongering and mudslinging have got to stop. The youth deserve the truth. The Filipinos deserve the truth. For only when the truth comes out does the Filipinos realize the evils of this junk legislation. May the Blessed Virgin, who was conceived without sin, guide the Filipino nation- un pueblo amante de Maria, as we hope to be one- one for life, one against the Reproductive Health Bill.

4 5

http://business.inquirer.net/39327/philippines-seen-among-top-20-economies-in-next-4-decades http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20080227-121434/Alarming-rise-in-teenagepregnancies-noted 6 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-103225/Why-giving-girls-Pill-raises-teen-pregnancy.html