2. The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 (R. A No.
10354) informally known as the Reproductive Health Law or RH Law, is a law in the
Philippines which guarantees universal access to methods on contraception,
fertility control, sex education, and maternal care.
The bill mandates the government to promote without biases, all effective,
natural, and modern methods of family planning that are medically safe and legal.
Although abortion is recognized as illegal and punishable by law, the bill states
that “the government shall ensure that all women needing care for post-abortion
complications shall be treated and counseled in a humane, non-judgmental, and
compassionate manner.”
The bill calls “multi-dimensional approach” which integrates a component of
family planning and responsible parenthood into all government anti-poverty
programs. Age-appropriate reproductive health and sexuality education is required
from grade four to fourth year high school using “life-skills and other approaches.”
3. The bill also mandate DOLE to guaranteed the reproductive health of its
female employees. Companies with fewer 200 workers are required to enter into
partnership with health care providers in their area for the delivery of reproductive
health services. Whereas, companies with more than 200 workers shall provide
reproductive health services to all employees in their own respective health
facilities.
The national government and local government will ensure the availability of
reproductive health care services like family planning and prenatal care. Any
person or public official who prohibits ore restricts of legal and medically-safe
reproductive health services shall be held liable.
4. Responsible Parenthood
■ Parents are legal guardians of child.They have the rights to their custody and
have responsibilities to support the child.
■ Responsible parenthood suggests the responsibilities of parents to guide,
protect, and provide for the basic needs of their children.
– It can also be seen as the duties of parents towards their children.
– It also refers to the situation in which parents effectively carry out their
duties towards their children.
■ Responsible parenthood as defined in the Directional Plan of Commission on
Population (POPCOM), is the will and ability of the parents to respond to the
needs and aspirations of the family and children.
– It is shared responsibility of the husband and wife to determine and achieve
the desired number, spacing, and timing of their children according to their
own family life aspirations, taking into account psychological preparedness,
health status, socio-cultural and economic concerns.
5. Roles of Responsible Parents
Parents are coupled with the responsibility of taking proper and good care
of their children so that they grow to become responsible adults.
The ff: are some of the roles of responsible parents:
■ Provide for financial and material needs of the household.
■ Care for the children (they need care and to show love and affection to
their children).
■ Provide for their children’s education –The best legacy of the parents to
their children is education.When a child is educated, a number of things
that surround him would be positively affected.
6. Roles of Responsible Parents
■ Provide shelter
■ Cultural orientation
■ Provide proper nutrition and health care to safeguard the child’s
physical health.
■ Make sure that their children are happy.
■ Teach their children how to work independently.
■ Make tough decisions for the welfare of the family.
7. Family Planning
■ involves using birth controls techniques to decide on the number of
children a family should have.
■ It allows the couples to have the desired number of children and control
the spacing and timing of their births.
8. Importance of Family Planning
■ Maternal Health – the health of the women during pregnancy, during
childbirth and after delivery.
– While motherhood is often positive and fulfilling experience, for too many
women, it is associated with suffering, ill health, and even death.
– A woman’s ability to space and limit her pregnancies has direct impact one
her health and well being, as well as on the outcome of each pregnancy.
Hence, family planning is at utmost importance.
– Couples have a choice whether to use natural family planning methods or
artificial family planning methods.
– What is important is they know how to plan the size of their family to ensure
better health, education, food, shelter, and many other needs of a family.
