We are at it again. The much publicized issue as to whether or not it must be passed as a law. It—RH bill—which whenever you mention it, everyone shall be reminded of a controversial proposed bill that still sits in the Congress for so many months. In the ever heated halls of the Congress, the two sides could be driven to hysteria by their arguments. The pro side proclaims that the bill is a “ human fundamental right, in such a way that it anchors the right of every Filipino to decide when and how to plan their way of conceiving children; and that the said bill is “ pro-poor, pro-woman and pro-life (which could be highly doubted for the following citation-needed reasons). In fact, Rep.
Edcel C. Lagman, a principal author and a prominent supporter of the bill, states with full confidentiality that whatever the misconceptions of the people to the bill, like first, being an anti-life; second, legalizing abortion; and lastly, endorsing abortifacients. Allow me to quote Hillary Rodman Clinton, the current US Secretary of State and former first lady, for this side’s support, “ If we are talking about maternal care, you cannot have maternal health without reproductive health, and reproductive health includes contraception and family planning and access to safe, legal abortion. ” But the other side declares different. According to them, not only that the bill puts a stopper in conceiving naturally, but it also degrades the moral values and culture of the society. Perhaps the most pronounced supporters are the members of the religious sectors.
Still, according to them, the bill is a device mainly to ideologically attack on human life, the family, and our social and cultural values. Though this is only proclaimed by a group of people who values mostly religion, and many a conservative Filipino agrees with it. And this subsequently affects the opinions and views of our Filipino students. Here in SACS, not only the students have their view on this, but our dear teachers, too. Ms. Rose Ann Gabud, a Social Studies teacher, says no to this bill, “ because it’s against the rule of God; it’s anti-life and against the Catholic practices. Things should be kept the way they are. Students also had their way of trumpeting their voices, too, and that was through their presentation in between the mysteries of the Block Rosary.
Simply put, whether there is a need to emphasize any extraneous detail on the two sides of the bill, our stand is not strong in a situation where in condoms are freely shared to you like lollipops before, nor in a situation where in Father Damaso has been resurrected, taking control of government offices instead of his seat in the church. But rather, our stand on this issue remains strong where people will use their minds to choose between what is right and what is easy.
