On the Other Side of the Bill

“On the Other Side of the Bill” 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