An opinion piece by Bing Mesias
Sooner than later now,
we will finally see the end of a long-running debate which has so divided the
nation for the longest time since it was introduced in 1998.
In the running for 14
years now, the Reproductive Health legislation (RH Bill) was introduced to
provide mandatory sex education and the government to fund family planning
services for the poor by supplying free contraceptives. Understandably, the
bill elicited an almost hysterical reaction from all quarters- but especially
from the predominantly Catholic sector. Both the pros and the cons for the bill
came almost in deluge. "Why kill your child?" says one would-be
priest. "Isn't this pre-emptive abortion?" asks another. "This
is against the word of God to go forth and multiply", adds another.
"The bill will kill the Filipino race", says El Shaddai's Mike
Velarde. And so on and so forth, ad infinitum...
All these, and more,
from the so-called pro-life- the 9000 nuns, priests and laity who have come
forward and are most vocal in their opposition to the bill as they rallied
recently.
I don't know about you,
but has someone even asked those who mattered most in this issue- our Filipino
women, about their stand on the bill? No, I'll correct that- the poorest fifth
of our women who give birth to 5.2 percent babies as against the 1.9 babies of
the 20 percent wealthy women in the country? The Philippines' population growth
is placed at 1.7percent as compared to only 0.9 throughout Asia. Mustn't we
stop producing that much now before it's too late for us to even think about
passing this bill?
Statistics show that our
women give birth 3.1 times during their lifetime as against only 2.1 from women
in the whole of Asia. And with the 104 million - yes, 104 million Filipinos as
of the last count, can we indeed afford to generate sufficient jobs for such a
huge population? The United Nation says that in the next decade the Philippines
will have the biggest population boom among all Asian countries. That's from
the United Nation and it doesn't lie. In fact, the United Nation went on to say
that a lower annual population growth of 5 percent will help reduce poverty
among the 20 million in the slum areas as the country improves economically.
Now, there's still hope, but only if...
In contrast, if we don't
heed the call against a high population growth, tell me - where do we get
enough food to feed our huge number? How do we build the schools to educate our
new entrants to the field of education? Whence the land to build their homes
on, the jobs to guarantee that each man, woman and child will have a house to
shelter them, the clothes to keep them warm on rainy days, a meal on the dining
table- in short; the basics? Just the basics, I don't mention anymore the
little luxuries, the few wants that would make life just a little bit better
and less boring.
I have 5 kids myself,
and though I have had the best education that my late father could buy, I must
admit that just relying on the natural family planning method was no guarantee
that I, or some other women for that matter, would give birth only whenever she
wanted to. As I found out too late. I wanted to space child-bearing, not only
because I had my work but also because I thought I owed it to my children to
give them the love and attention that they so rightfully deserved. The very
best attention that I could not and in fact, wasn't able to give because two of
them came one after the other while I also juggled work and caring for them.
And all the while I thought I was into family planning - the natural way
approved by the church.
And so even now I look
back with a pang of guilt because one did not have her booster shots on time
and thus ended up with a whooping cough, of one Sr-Jrs, Prom I missed because I
had to be somewhere else conducting a conference, of being away when I should
be home more instead of just relying on my girl Friday, however efficient she
was (she wasn't!).
No, I still think that
as a mother I have given my best, but yes, looking back now I must admit that
my best wasn't good enough. That I could have done better - if only I knew more
about family planning, and not the Church-espoused natural method, even if I am
a Catholic and will die one. And no, I don't think that had I planned my
pregnancy based on the RH bill I would kill my child, because that would be the
last thing on my mind. Horrors! I wouldn't even think about it. Nor that had I
known about the RH bill then, I would be putting an end to the Filipino race.
How presumptuous can I get were I to think that way? Or any other Filipino
woman to think that way for that matter?
I have gone around so
much in both my personal life and in the public service, and these I saw:
hungry kids going up the Ipil-Ipil trees for their young pods to eat- the same
young pods and leaves used to feed the cows and Carabaos with, of some
neighbors in a farm digging out a pig that's been dead and buried for 2 days
from hog cholera because that at least, was still food when served on the
table, of a man scooping up scattered rice from a burst sack to bring home and
shot dead by a very zealous security guard- these and more point to a very
urgent need for the RH bill to pass. Scenes that I don't know if seen by the
9000 bleeding hearts who say they are pro-life when all around them are babies
dying from malnutrition, of pregnant women with babies sucking on their breasts
while their other children in some parts of the kitchen are up on a stool
scavenging for what's left in the pots, of unemployed husbands going home
depressed and frustrated after pounding the streets because all around were
signs of "No vacancy".
How can the church be so blind to the plight of the poor as to reject the bill
outright? How can they say that the RH bill will kill the race when the
Filipino race is already dying? And is sure to die anyway given more mouths to
feed without the food to feed them? And forgive me my very simplistic way of
looking at the issue of this pre-emptied abortion - how can there be life
already in that one moment of sexual act? Who is being killed and who the
killers? Is the couple already thinking of a baby at that moment of copulation?
My gosh! A third party is simply farthest from their minds in that moment of
shared bliss - ask a couple that.
This bill is long
overdue. For all our sake, for the sake of every Filipino - man, woman or
child, I say "Yes" to the RH bill!
(Editor's note: Bing Mesias is a resident writer of Filipino Radio Brisbane. Your comments and reaction are greatly appreciated.)
