I was told by one my students that an email is circulating claiming that the Reproductive Health bill will jail parents for six years if they do not allow their children to attend sexuality education classes proposed by the bill. This is a patent lie.
I have not been to church, but am told that parishes are amassing signatures after mass on Sundays.
If you want to read the bill for yourself, click here. The latest version is HB 5043.
If you are sick and tired of the hard church meddling with affairs of the soft state, add your voice to the online petition advocating the passage of the Reproductive Health bill.
Popularity: 3% [?]
There is a vast Catholic Church conspiracy to throttle the Bill. It’s a real showdown. We need an honest-to-uhmm-God cultural revolution to legitimize the common sense use of pills, condoms, iuds in the Public Sphere. That I think is the CBCP strategy: to keep them illicit contraband in the eyes of the Public. Once that spell is broken (perhaps by a persistent commercial and public service sex education health campaign on media) the voices of the pulpit will sound hollow and silly.
Then they can concentrate on the problem of abortion for real.
the church? lie to her people? impossible! the church would never, ever lie to her people!
(hahahaha)
In fairness to the Church, there are progressives as well as fundamentalists. I just wish the progressives would show some spine and speak up. Paging Jesuits.
DJB, I so agree with you. This country needs a scientific revolution. A clean break from the pre-modern thinking that informs our philosophies (thinking) from our everyday lives to our national policies.
Whether progressive or fundamentalist, Catholic dogma is pretty clear on artificial contraception:
Thou shalt not spill thy seed anywhere else other than where thine Almighty commandeth they be spilt.
So anyone who begs to differ to that faces the wrath of the Yahweh as manifest in the eternal fires that await you.
:D
Over the years “progressive” church officials have tried to squirm past that collection of Medieval jargon in an effort to “modernise” their stance (Note: without revising dogma) in order to appeal to young people who are now relatively better equipped with modern thinking faculties.
The bottom line is that Catholic dogma does not provide for a gray area. Therefore we are faced with a simple decision of whether we see ourselves as subscribing to this dogma or not.
Anyone who thinks he/she can be a half-Catholic is living off bullshit.
Life’s too short for that.
Actually it is not as stark as that even for devout Catholics, Benign0. You see, the Church’s teachings on birth control have never been declared to be INFALLIBLE TEACHING by the Pope. Recall that in Humanae Vitae Paul VI disagreed with the majority (9-6) on the Papal Commission of Cardinals and Archbishops he himself had appointed who voted to approve the use of non abortive artificial contraception such as pills, condoms and iuds.
Because of this disunity of opinion in the Episcopacy, the teaching on Birth Control is not infallible at this time. It has the same dogmatic status as Limbo (before the decisive debunking of that cruel and wicked teaching last year).
Last year, I signed an online petition demanding that Pops and Martin get back together.
Nothing happened.
I dont think these online petitions work :(
Last Friday in an RH Forum held in Ateneo, Bishop Bacani pretty much said there are really some sectors within the hierarchy who are so retrograde they won’t even allow natural family planning! Unfortunately it is this loud minority who are making it their mission to stop the passage of this bill.
Solid Pinoy, rest assured there are dozens of organizations who are actively lobbying members of Congress. From the comfort of your own home, all you need do is click and type in your name. It is a symbolic gesture which will help add weight to our case. It will be very much appreciated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei.
I think the more frustrating thing for us, doctors, is that there are fellow doctors who’re also very much against the passage of the RH bill. Considering that they, too, have first-hand knowledge about why we badly need this bill to be passed, it’s a wonder why still they choose to turn a blind eye and continue to chant the endless litany of the RCC’s lies regarding contraception and abortion. Come to think of it, RH bill doesn’t even promote abortion! And yet, for the RCC, artificial contraception is synonymous to abortion.
I don’t think they’ll ever listen to reason, really. It’s when supposed intelligent individuals continuing to utter “I’m against artificial contraception because it distorts the nature of the sexual act by disjointing the unitive and procreative aspects of it” bullshit that really says still there are a lot of people out there who’ll refuse to think rationally.
Oh by the way, that quote above (which I’ve very slightly paraphrased) came from a real person.
I think the only real people who oppose the RH bill are the people who have never found sex enjoyable.
Of course, that’s tongue-in-cheek, foot-in-mouth, and *toot* on *toot*.
I mean, seriously? Why is sex-for-fun such a big deal for these people? Especially when you consider the fact that many of them are celibate?
duhh??? sex is not just a simple thing …do u know that it is holy and only married people are allowed to do that?????…sagrado baga sa tagalog….hmmmmmp…kaya naghihirap ang pilipinas dahil jan….they do it for lust and it is a serious sin to god…
@Jon Limjap:
or people too ashamed to admit they want/have sex for pleasure.
well, to think that most of these people voicing opposition are hypocrites or have never left the comforts of their homes to really see what is happening in the slums and rural areas.
The bill is Stating That contraceptives are essential medicines but why?Is pregnancy a disease that we should Avoid and cure?…
the law are better if it is not contradicting the divine law….
Para sa ating mga pinuno na nakaupo!!!
sana alam nyo ang tama at mali!!
alam kong may pinag-aralan kau!!
matakot kau sa dyos..(Bkit)
dahil tau ay kristiano
ang artificial na pagamit ng contraceptive
ay di sagot sa KAhirapan!!
ibaba ang presyo ng bigas!!
ibaba and presyo ng gas!!
maawa kau!!
uhuh. perhaps we should mandate a seminar on malthus.
The best thing to do, as concerned citizens, let us all persuade and even encourage government officials, NGO/s and other organizations who think for the welfare of our brethren,to continue disseminating information regarding family planning and and tell them the negative effects of abortion. Moreover, since we are facing various predicaments, I think, the parents should think first if they can give a descent life to the child… We have to think deeper..
it is presumptuous of the Catholic church that God would not allow the use of devices and ‘unnatural’ methods to prevent pregnancies now that some parents are killing themselves and their children who can no longer support their ‘over-populated’ families.
and what is the Catholic church doing to help out impoverished families anyway?
it should at least discourage individuals who do not have full-time jobs from getting married and having children.
thank you.
a good Catholic
Sorry but I’ll never support the bill. It is true that it has some advantages but these advantages really seem to only be short term ones. I think that in the long run, the passage of this bill will only hurt our already poor country.
And really, if you’re all up for this because you’re all scared of overpopulation, you should think again. After all, the scare of overpopulation in Britain in the old days paved the way for the Industrial Revolution. That means that if people put their minds to good use, they could develop ways for us to overcome our poverty.
And why don’t people just stop having sex if they don’t want children anymore? I’m sure many find sex pleasurable but there are other ways to find pleasure in this world (like eating lots of chocolates! XD).
hey Someone;
it is not the overpopulation of the country that scares some people; it is the overpopulation of families that worries these people.
those who don’t support this bill may be enlightened by Dean Jorge Bocobo’s comment above.
eating chocolates has pleasure equal to sex? hmmm.
i believe the only solution of the increasing population is the reproductive health bill…
i think the concept of the reproductive health bill is not that new.
some say that it is not the answer to population control, well i think IT IS.
if it isn’t, what could be the answer?
IN A COUNTRY(LIKE OURS) WHERE DISCIPLINE IS HARD TO ATTAIN, we need this solution.
we all expirience these problems brought about by over population.
AS POPULATION GROWS, PROBLEMS ON FOOD SHORTAGE, SHELTER, POVERTY, AND WASTE MANAGEMENT CONTINUESLY GROW.
WHO WOULD SUFFER?
IT’S NOT ONLY US… BUT ALSO OUR FUTURE GENERATION. LET US HELP BUILD A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR THEM. LET US SUPPORT THE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH BILL.!!
Kristine L.;
i like the way you think. i wish these men of the cloth are as sensible as you.
thanks
Why can’t we change the norm in having the Church being involved in politics?
Why can’t we Filipinos have the likes of Muhammad or Genghis Khan on stopping their beliefs to advance their civilization?
I actually wanted the bill to be passed and be implemented…
However, when we are dealing with the moral issues of the Christian faith, i guess, more and more confusing facts will storm our minds.
I am a Catholic, a Christian, I believe in God, and believe in the importance of life, but does supporting the bill distorts our faith?
Poverty, can be a root cause of evil doings on earth, not the reproductive bill.
DISCIPLINE is the key to achieve our dream to have a better country. It should be applied in all aspects of our lives. Without it, all kinds of law including God’s will be useless and senseless if we do not follow them.
I believe that our LORD is behind all these things, so please do not say that this bill is “a moral evil” because God planned every single detail in every human’s life. Including those who are seated in the congress.
Support the Bill, be a responsible citizen, and be disciplined, read the bill and understand it well. Because the collaborators of the bill are likewise, Christian, catholic, baptized by the church and embraced its teachings, so how come it is evil or immoral.
God Bless those who aimed to make the country’s situation better and forgive those who tried to stop it. Even we are tired of having too many laws to follow, still think of our neighbors who are in the congress who are also having their hard time thinking how to make a progress for the Filipino people.
“Poverty, can be a root cause of evil doings on earth, not the reproductive bill.”
But what is the cause of that poverty? Do we practically cure the symptom and leave the disease? You might say overpopulation is a cause of poverty. But is it? Is the birth of human beings a deterrent to progress? Is the formation of life a stumbling obstacle to success? What you should be considering is informing people of the implication and moral grounds on why sex should be performed within marriage. The sexual act consummates the wedding vow, and it is the duty of the married couple to procreate responsibly. If the sexual act is performed purely for pleasure, then it does not meet the end or objective of marriage.
We do not need further degradation. The Filipino needs only moral philosophy.
In a country full of exploit, of course it is hard…
Pornography, Sex exploration (PMS)
All this mumbo jumbo
What is really sex in the minds of the Filipinos?
Is it a weekly (or worst, DAILY) requirement?
Darn it!
!!!!!!better go to hell..sagrado ang sex kaya dapat hindi binabasta basta…
sana magkamalay kayo…
Rapid population growth exacerbates poverty, while poverty spawns rapid population growth.
Support the RH bill!
bakit hindi na lang putulan ng ari ang isang lalake at tapalan ang ari ng babae kung meron na silang 2 anak…
hehehe
ginagawa tayong tanga ng mga gumawa ng Reproductive Health bill na yan. Pinapakialaman nila ang kapangyarihan ng isang nilalang na gumawa ng desisyon na galing mismo sa kanilang karunungan at tila kinu-konsinti pa ang imoralidad ng mga taong iresponsable sa kanilang paggamit ng kanilang “sexual rights.”
I used to believe that there was a direct correlation between population size and poverty. It seemed obvious at first when you look at developed nations having close to zero birthrates. But when you apply the idea that every person has a potential and able to ‘will himself (or herself) to power’ as existentialists would say, if he (or she) chooses to, then it becomes the opposite: the most populous become the most developed. The more people you have, shouldn’t you have more “infinite diversity in infinite combination” thus increasing the chances of greatness?
But no. The most developed countries have very little birth rates–especially Europe, America and Japan. Unfortunately, this course means that these nations will and are being overwhelmed by “poorer” countries that are flooding them with immigrants, legal and illegal. Some even say that Europe’s majority will be muslim by the 22nd century and the US will be practically spanish by 2060.
The thing I observed that changed my mind about poverty and population is greed or at least the acquisition of wealth for one’s sake. It seems the common argument is that one would rather have fewer kids–like one–so he/she could go to better schools. More resources could be allocated to a single person. The reality is: the parents or the single parent just want more time and money for themselves too—to take that vacation, to buy that bag, to buy something. They claim they are reserving resources so that per capita gets the most when all the while they are really hording most of the resources of the world so they could get the most while producing the least.
The problem then is not so much how many millions you have but unequal distribution of wealth caused by poor basic structures like education and bad politics.
It’s not a matter of faith. It just so happens the opposition come from those of faith. Aside from the arguments that it’s immoral, most of the arguments against it is fair as long as we don’t see the people making the argument in cloaks but rather take their statements secularly. There used to be an old adage that we must work today for our children’s tomorrow. That is true even in nature. Beings mate with the best so that genetically, the best will continue the species. The more offspring, the greater chances of survival and the greater chance that the best traits will be passed on.
Rather than focusing on policies that generalize, why dont individualize policies? Instead of focusing on how condoms will save the earth, why not figure out what we can do with the millions of pairs of hands that a nation has?
It’s a matter of perception, ultimately. Maybe there is a connection, rather than a coincidence, between population and poverty. Maybe there isn’t. Either way, the situation could be presented in positive or a negative way. And if we should follow the stoic, it’s not that there are good or bad news, its how you feel and act upon it.
Artificial and natural methods of family planning are both contraceptives, they are both effective when properly applied. However, artificial method of family planning has many questionable aspects that may not conform to the faith and conviction of the large majority of this country. Why not try natural method? The best natural methods available are abstinence to premarital sex and marrying at the most reasonable age. What is the most reasonable age? This is the time where both partners are financially, psychologically, and emotionally prepared to be united as husband and wife. If one should ask about the definite marriageable age for both partners, male should be 35 and female should be 30. As the couple decides to delay marriage, the couple is also delaying childbirth. This has been proven to be effective in many European countries and this could be effective in the Philippines once this country has adopted the culture of responsible parenthood by marrying when couples are most ready to get married. Marrying at the age of 30s does many things; it will reduce annulment, population, poverty.
Hi, here are 9 best arguments why Catholics oppose the RH bill.
http://catholicposition.blogspot.com/2010/12/9-reasons-why-i-oppose-rh-bill-hb-5043.html
If you really believe that you claims are valid, an engage yourself in a discussion with the author? Let us aee how far can you go. People like you are just good in posting remote articles like this but are afraid to engage in real debate.