Intercessors for the Philippines - RH Bill Position Paper

STATEMENT OF
POSITION
ON THE RH BILL
Compiled by Ptr Ed De Guzman
Vice Chairman
IFP-INTERCESSORS FOR THE
PHILIPPINES
From the Position Paper of
Atty Lyndon Cana
Powerpoint Templates
Page 1

• Consolidated Version of all
previous RH Bills, now
docketed as HB 4244 entitled
“An Act Providing for a
Comprehensive Policy on
Responsible Parenthood,
Reproductive Health, and
Population and Development,
And for Other Purposes”
Page 2

Statement of Position:

• The problems of poverty,
irresponsible parenthood and
health care for mothers are well-
recognized. HOWEVER, the RH
Bill is not the right or proper
solution to the problems. We
strongly oppose the RH Bill on the
followingTemplates
Powerpoint grounds:
Page 3

• 1..Its general concept • 2..The RH Bill as crafted
of direct state violates the spirit and
intrusion/interference letter of the Bible and the
in the mother’s womb, Constitution.
and its intent and • 3.It will create more
policy to control problems than it will solve;
pregnancy in order to particularly, it will wittingly
address perceived or unwittingly promote
problems of population immorality and
explosion, poverty, promiscuity, endanger
health, violate conscience,
irresponsible
weaken marriage and
parenthood, is
parental authority, and
FUNDAMENTALLY threaten national Page 4
security;
WRONG.

• 4..The RH Bill • 5.The RH bill is
is a neo- the first installment
imperialist of a series of
imposition on legislation that will
3 world
rd promote same-sex
countries marriage,
which we unbiblical divorce,
should guard euthanasia, etc.
against. Powerpoint Templates
Page 5

Alternatives

• The best alternative is to reject or
junk the RH Bill and craft a different
programs and/or enact differents law
that will increase job opportunities,
provide education to our people,
which are the two surest “controls” on
pregnancy and “population
explosion”;
Page 6

• If the legislators are hell-bent on passing
the RH Bill into law, critical amendments
have to be introduced to mitigate its
damage on the nation. It is highly doubtful,
however, if the proponents are open to
these amendments. I this event, more
drastic options have to be seriously
considered.

Page 7

PART I
The FUNDAMENTAL FLAW IN
THE APPROACH
OF USING “REPRODUCTIVE
HEALTH RIGHTS”
AS A TOOL TO COMBAT
POVERTY AND CONTROL
POPULATION GROWTH
Page 8

1.The RH BILL is being packaged
as an answer to run-away
population explosion and
irresponsible parenthood. In gist, it
proposes that GOVERNMENT
MUST ENTER THE WOMB and
legislate the incidents therein. The
buzz word is “prevent pregnancy”
or “control the number of children”.
• Powerpoint Templates
Page 9

• 2.The approach is fundamentally
flawed. For government to
legislate on things and incidents
affecting conception, pregnancy,
and the exercise of a matter as
private and as intimate as sex in
order to control population
suggests and implies:
Page 10

• A.government admits its failure to promote
jobs, social justice, create equal
opportunities, and better the economy;

• B.that government is treading dangerously
close to a realm that only God and the
couple are supposed to resolve between
themselves. Government, through the RH
Bill, is placed in a position to endanger the
fertilized egg, the fetus, and the human
body itself (by way of ligation and
vasectomy) in the guise of controlling
poverty. Powerpoint Templates
Page 11

3.Common sense and studies show that
there have been basically TWO FACTORS
that have been HISTORICALLY SHOWN to
constitute a NATURAL CHECK on
thoughtless pregnancy and escalating
population growth, namely JOBS and
EDUCATION. (The more people have work,
and the higher they are educated, the less
they tend to have children, and the more
able they take care of them. See ADB
report entitled “Key Indicators for Asia
and Pacific 2010.”)
Page 12

• contraception and abortion:
• 4. On the other hand, when the use of contraceptives
studies also show that
increased from 49.1 to 79.9
the pursuit of programs percent per 1,000 women, the
backed up by legislation abortion rate also increased
like the RH Bill have from 5.52 to 11.49 percent.
resulted in George Akerlof, a Nobel Prize
THE RISE OF THE EVILSwinner on economics, reported
that RH Bill seeks to in the Journal of economics
prevent: rise in incidence published by MIT press that the
of AIDS/HIV, teenage effect of contraceptives have
pregnancy, abortion. (See been more premarital sex,
report of “Contraception”, more single mothers, more
a scientific journal, fatherless children, and more
on abortions.)
covering 1997-2007, Powerpoint Templates
Page 13

• 5.Finally, there are studies that show
that a growing population, properly
handled, is a boost to the economy. (See
report of Noble Prize winner Simon
Kuznets, US national research Council
1986, UN Population Fund Consultative
meeting of Economists (1992).)
•
• Thus, the whole idea of combating
poverty, controlling population growth by
such measures as the RH Bill is
FUNDAMENTALLY INFIRMED. Page 14

• The CONSTITUTIONAL IDEA OF
COMBATTING POVERTY is not
government intrusion in the womb
and in the bedroom or “population
control”! It is found in Article II,
Section 9 of the Constitution:

Page 15

• “The state shall promote a just
and dynamic social order that
will ensure the prosperity and
independence of the nation and
free the people from poverty
through policies that provide
adequate social services,
promote full employment, a
rising standard of living and an
improved quality of life for all.”
Page 16

It is NOT TO CONDOMIZE,
PILDORISE, IUDize,
LIGATIONIZE OR
VASECTOMIZE the nation!

Page 17

Part ii
SPECIFIC EVILS
AND INFIRMITES OF
THE RH BILL

Page 18

I. The RH BILL WILL
LEGALIZE THE KILLING OF
THE LIFE OF THE UNBORN
AT CONCEPTION, IN
VIOLATION OF OUR
CONSTITUTION, AND THE
BIBLE

Page 19

• The RH bill will institutionalize and make
mandatory the use and distribution of
artificial family planning methods, products
and services the purpose of which is to
prevent pregnancy by terminating the life
of the fertilized ovum (zygote).
•
• It provides in Section 3 [e] that “THE
STATE SHALL PROMOTE WITHOUT
BIAS ALL EFFECTIVE NATURAL AND
MODERN METHODS OF FAMILY
PLANNING THAT ARE MEDICALLY
SAFE AND LEGAL”.
Page 20

• The 1987 Constitution, Article II.
Declaration of Principles & State Policies
clearly declares:
• “Sec. 12. The State recognizes the sanctity
of family life and shall protect and strengthen
the family as a basic autonomous social
institution. It shall equally protect the life
of the mother and the life of the unborn
from conception. The natural and primary
right of parents in the rearing of the youth for
civic efficiency and the development of moral
character shall received the support of the
Government.”
Page 21

Conception is the moment and
process of the fertilization of an
ovum (egg cell) by a sperm
following sexual intercourse. The
result is the formation of zygote (a
combined cell with 73 pairs in its
nucleus) representing the beginning
of pregnancy. (Hurrup’s Dictionary
of Medicine and Health, 1st Edition,
1988).
Page 22

• There is at this stage successful
fertilization of the ovum.
• The ovum (zygote) has to travel
through the fallopian tube to be
implanted at the uterus where it
will stay for nine months.
•
Page 23

• The Philippine Medical Association agrees
that life begins at fertilization.
•
• The problem of the RH Bill is that:
•
• It does NOT DEFINE what is “medically
safe and legal” “modern methods of family
planning”, AND
• It ADAMANTLY REFUSES to DEFINE
WHAT IS “LIFE OF THE UNBORN AT
CONCEPTION.”
Page 24

• The uncanny effect of this is that
YOU HAVE DRUGS AND
DEVICES CLEARED BY DOH as
safe, legal and scientific
FLOODING THE MARKET
WHICH TERMINATE THE LIFE
OF THE UNBORN AT
CONCEPTION!
Page 25

• They are the following:

• Depoprovera
• RU 486 (produced by Roussel-
Uclaf)
• IUD (intra uterine device)
• Norplant
• The morning after pill
Page 26

• Depoprovera has been labeled a long tern
contraceptive but is in fact an abortifacient, It
comes in the form of an injection. The US Food
and Drug Administration has deemed this drug
unsafe for American women but has not
discouraged its producers (Upjohn) from
promoting and distributing it in third world
countries.

• RU 486 (produced by Roussel-Uclaf) prevents
the uptake of progesterone, a necessary
hormone in the early stages of pregnancy.
Expulsion of the baby occurs in about 86 percent
of women in 24 hours. It causes severe
bleeding, at times lasting up to 42 days. Page 27

• IUD (intra uterine device) is a plastic
device of various shapes that is placed
inside the uterus by producing local
irritation. It seems to produce
inflammation of the uterine mucosa that
impedes the implantation of the ovum.
Likewise it alters the mechanism of
transport of the spermatocytes. The
developing child (fertilized ovum) who has
come from the fallopian tube cannot
implant and thus dies. The IUD has anti-
implantation and abortive effects.
Page 28

• Norplant is a series of six non-
biodegradable rubber-like rods or
capsules that are surgically implanted
under the skin in the inside portion of the
arm. It can continue its abortifacient
activity for up to six years. Its side effects
are similar to those of the IUD.
•

Page 29

• The morning after pill or emergency
contraceptive pill (ECP) is a chemical product
of hormonal nature. It is increasingly presented
and marketed as a contraceptive (i.e.
preventing contraception) that could be used in
emergency situations after sexual intercourse
to avoid an unwanted pregnancy. In reality, it is
an abortive product. It prevents the fertilized
egg from implanting in the uterus by altering the
internal wall of this organ, and provoke its
expulsion from the uterus. It works the same
way as the IUD.
• Page 30

• If the Bill becomes law,
• IT WOULD UNWITTINGLY
LEGALIZE THE KILLING OF THE
UNBORN AT CONCEPTION
• through the abovementioned drugs
and devices. It would not constitute
abortion under the Revised Penal
Code because abortion can only be
committed if there is implantation.
The abovementioned drugs prevent
implantation, thus killing the fertilized
egg.
Page 31

God is the active agent in the
formation of human life, not
“nature”. Here are strong
Biblical references:

Page 32

1Job 10:8-12 (NIV) (KJV)
•“Thine hands have me and fashioned me
together round about; yet thou dust destroy me.
•Remember, I beseech thee, that they hast me as
the clay; and will then bring me into dust again.
•Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and
curdled me like cheese?
•Thou has clothed me with skin and flesh, and
hast fenced me with bones and sinews;
•Thou has granted me LIFE and FAVOR, and
thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.”
Page 33

• HERE, very clearly, from “milk” to
“cheese” to skin and flesh to bones and
sinews, GOD IS SEEN AS THE ACTIVE
AGENT THAT CREATES AND FORMS
LIFE FROM CONCEPTION. The
termination of the fertilized egg by
preventing its IMPLANTATION in the
uterus is CLEARLY MURDER as viewed
from the Bible. THIS IS THE
CONCEALED EVIL OF THE RH BILL.

Page 34

2.Psalm 139:13-16 –
•Verse 13 “For thou hast possessed my
reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s
womb
•Verse 14 “I will praise thee; for I am
fearfully and wonderfully made, marvelous
are thy works and that my soul knoweth
right well.
•Verse 15 “My substance was not hid from
thee, WHEN I WAS MADE IN SECRET, and
CURIOUSLY WROUGHT IN THE LOWEST
PARTS OF THE EARTH.
Page 35

• (Note: “lowest parts of the earth” is “erets”
in Hebrew: earth, used 2,504 times in the
Bible, used very vividly: soil, ground, earth
(as opposed to heaven)… it can be
Hebrew euphemism for the realm of the
spirit as opposed to the material world.
•
• Verse 16 “Thine eyes did see my
substance, yet being imperfect…
Page 36

• NOTE:
• “Substance” in verse 16 is the
Hebrew word GOLEM ..a wrapped-up
unformed mass, an embryo --
fertilized egg
• Contrast to “Substance” of
• Verse 15 – Hebrew word OTSEM –
meaning “frame”
• Formed or forming, into external
manifestations of human life (skin,
bones, veins, organs)… Page 37

• “Curiously wrought” raqam (Hebrew)
• to variegate = to embroider, to break
out into distinguishable patterns
• “And thy book (SEPITER in Hebrew,
meaning writing, record, scroll, book)
ALL MY MEMBERS (composition,
elements) were written, WHICH IN
CONTINUANCE WERE
FASHIONED, WHEN AS YET
THERE WAS NONE”
Page 38

• Verse 17 “How precious also are thy
thoughts unto me, O God! How great is
the sum of them!”
• HERE AGAIN, IT IS VERY CLEAR
THAT GOD TREATS THE UNFORMED
MASS AS LIFE! IT IS HE WHO
ASSEMBLES THE “MEMBERS” (PARTS)
WHEN AS YET THERE IS NONE OF
THEM!
• The taking of drugs and the use of
devices that terminate the embryo (zygote,
fertilized egg) is MURDER PLAIN AND
SIMPLE! That is what the RH Bill will
Page 39

3. Jeremiah 2:34
•
•“Also in thy SKIRTS is found the blood
of the SOULS of the poor
innocents…”
•
•Matthew Henry in his commentary
believes this refers to the blood of
infants offered to Molech (god of
Ammonites) (also Chemosh, god of
Moabites). Page 40

• In the Bible, the blood of the innocent
is always found IN THE HANDS of
the murderer. IN THIS CASE, IT IS
FOUND IN THE SKIRTS (clothing
worn by women, by MOTHERS).
KILLING OF INFANTS is one of the
greatest sins of the people of God in
Jeremiah’s time where God could not
be pacified. “Poor” here is used NOT
in the economic sense, but in the
sense of BEING DEFENSELESS.
Page 41

• INFANTS ARE DEFENSELESS WHEN IT
IS THEIR OWN PARENTS THAT WISH
THEM DEAD. The MOST
DEFENSELESS STAGE OF HUMAN
LIFE IS THE FERTILIZED EGG OR
ZYGOTE STAGE. It is ALREADY
HUMAN LIFE! The 23 chromosomes from
the father and the 23 from the mother are
already formed and complete to form the
ENTIRE BLUE PRINT of the human
person. From the biblical point of view,
this IS ALREADY HUMAN LIFE.
Page 42

4.Psalm 51:5
•Behold, I was shapen in, iniquity; and in sin did
my mother CONCEIVE me.”
•Conception – union of sperm and egg (not
implantation)
•Only a person can be considered a sinner.
Meaning, AN EMBRYO IS ALREADY
CONSIDERED A PERSON IN THE BIBLE TO
BE CONSIDERED A SINNER.
• Very clearly, the RH Bill will unwittingly
promote and legalize the killing of the unborn at
conception. Powerpoint Templates
Page 43

II. THE RH BILL WILL
PROMOTE AND
ESCALATE IMMORALITY

Page 44

• Under the RH Bill, all artificial methods
of birth control have to be promoted.
(Section 3 [e].) All accredited health
facilities have to make them available
and funded by the Philhealth system
(Section 7, page 10). The DOH and LGUs
shall distribute them nationwide
(Section 11, page 11). And they are re-
classified as ESSENTIAL DRUGS
(meaning over the counter, non-
prescriptive drugs and devices, can be
obtained without parental permission,
without need of doctor’s prescription.
(section 10, page 11.) Page 45

Add to all these is that they will teach
“Sexuality Education” BEGINNING
GRADE 5!

In the 12 areas that are covered under
“Sexuality education”, NONE MENTIONS
MARRIAGE (sex only in marriage). The
focus of the teaching is SAFE SEX, and
HEALTHY SEX, under the concept that
sex is a UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHT.

Page 46

WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF ALL
THESE?
• It does not take a genius to see the SUM
TOTAL EFFECT of all the above
provisions of the RH Bill:
• Grade 5 pupils upwards will have free
access to condoms and pills, they can
acquire them at any time for free or at very
minimal cost. They will not be required to
explain their age, or ask their parents
permission. Doctor’s prescription is not
required. Powerpoint Templates
Page 47

• Sex, which is a universal human right,
will become a FREE FOR ALL affair,
provided it does not lead to
pregnancy and does not promote
diseases. But it will be party time for
sex itself in the Philippines after the
RH Bill.

•

Page 48

NO PARENT AND NO SCHOOL
AND NO CHURCH CAN
PREVENT THE ESCALATION
OF SEXUAL
EXPERIMETNATION AND
ADVENTURE BY THE YOUNG
UNDER THE REGIME OF THE
RH BILL!
Page 49

iii. THE RH BILL WILL
UNWITTINGLY WEAKEN THE
FAMILY

Page 50

• The scenario envisioned in the
preceding discussion will result in the
weakening of the family,
• Whereby adolescents and teen-agers
molded by the sexuality education
concept of the state under the RH Bill
since grade 5 of their lives, will no
longer subscribe to the “ancient” and
“irrelevant, jurassic” value system of
their parents which hold that sex is only
for marriage. Page 51

• Thus, the Bill unwittingly contravenes the
spirit of the Constitution, which is supposed
to provide in Article XV (The Family) thereof:
•
• “The state recognizes the Filipino family as
the foundation of the nation. Accordingly, it
shall strengthen it solidarity and actively
promote its total development.” (Section 1)
•
Page 52

IV. THE RH BILL WILL
WEAKEN MARRIAGE
• The Constitution, in Article XV, is supposed to
provide that “Marriage, as an inviolable social
institution, is the foundation of the family, and
shall be protected by the state” (Section 2)
• In the RH Bill, under section 28 (a) (2), the
availment of any of the methods of birth control
by any married person does not require the
consent of the spouse. Templates
Powerpoint
Page 53

•
• The principle of unanimity and
consensuality in decision-
making in marriage is lost.
• The Constitutional objective is
injured.

Page 54

• “Marriage is a special contract only
in form, but in essence it is an
inviolable social institution, founded
on custom and morality, based on
consent of the parties, which
unites a man and a woman ends for
the development of the personality.
(5 Valdverde 49-50; as cited in the
family code of the Philippines, Nery
Duremdes, Powerpoint Templates
1989 edition, p.1)
Page 55

This high ideal of marriage will
be threatened by the RH Bill.

Page 56

V. THE RH BILL WEAKEN
PARENTAL AUTHORITY

Page 57

• Under the Constitution, the right
to EDUCATE THE CHILDREN is
the NATURAL AND PRIMARY
RIGHT OF PARENTS, which
shall be supported by the state
(Art. II, Sec. 12.)
•

Page 58

• Under the RH Bill, THE STATE (government)
will teach sexuality education to children
beginning grade 5. (Section 16, page 13)
HERE, THE PARENTS WILL LOSE THE
FIGHT OVER THE SOULS OF THEIR
CHILDREN. The children spend more time in
school than at home. It will be the teachers’
with their state-guided curriculum (that sexuality
is a right, just practice it safely and without
resulting to pregnancy, and it is all right) that
will form the core value system of the future
generation of this country regarding sex and
related matters. Page 59

•
•
• Section 16 of the RH Bill is against
Deuteronomy 6, which squarely puts
ON THE PARENTS’ SHOULDER the
task of educating their children
according to the precepts and
principles that God taught.

Page 60

VI. THE RH BILL
TRAMPLES ON FREEDOM
OF CONSCIENCE

Page 61

• The RH Bill, in Section 28 (Prohibited Acts),
MANDATE that healthcare providers CANNOT
WITHHOLD INFORMATION on methods of
birth control. (sub-section [a] 1).
• You cannot legally refuse to perform them
(sub-section [a] 2), and if you raise a
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION (by reason of
conscience or religion), you may say no BUT
YOU HAVE TO REFER THE PATIENT TO
SOMEONE WHO WILL PERFORM OR
PROVIDE WHAT YOU YOURSELF REFUSE
TO PERFROM OR PROVIDE. (subsection a
[3]). Punishment is 6 months imprisonment,
Page 62

The foregoing provisions are not only cruel, they
are, with all due respect, UNBELIEVABLE. What
is the use of recognizing conscientious
objection when you are still required to refer
to another person what you yourself refuse to
provide or perform? It is thus a shameless
trampling of conscience.
In the same vein, employers are OBLIGED to
provide, or make arrangements to provide,
“reproductive health services” to its employees.
(Section 21.) This, regardless of your conscience
or beliefs to the contrary. There is no
“conscientious objection”Templates
Powerpoint provision for employers.
Page 63

• Added to the audacity of this bill is that this is
the only bill I can recall THAT PUNISHES
ANYONE WHO ENGAGES IN “MALICIOUS
DISINFORMATION” against the Bill. (Section
28 [e].) Since they did not define what is
“malicious disinformation”, the timid citizen will
end up not speaking anything against the law
anymore for fear of being fined Php50,000
and/or jailed for six months.
•
• Only the spirit of the 666 or the Anti-Christ can
conjure something like this
Page 64

VII. THE RH BILL WILL
THREATEN NATIONAL
SECURITY

Page 65

The objective of the RH Bill is
REDUCE THE POPULATION.
• What is unknown to many pro-RH bill
people is that WITHOUT THE RH BILL,
THE BIRTH RATE OF THE PHILIPPINES
IS ALREADY DECLINING.
• The SAFE “replacement level” for a birth
or fertility rate is 2.1%. Below 2.1%, it
means that the population of a country is
already “declining” and “aging”, which
means there will be more people dying
than being born. Powerpoint Templates
Page 66

The objective of the RH Bill is
REDUCE THE POPULATION.
•The TFR (Total Fertility Rate) of the
Philippines is 7% in 1960 to 3.1% in 2008.
AT PRESENT TRENDS, WE WILL REACH
OUR 2.1% level BY 2025, JUST
FOURTEEN YEARS FROM NOW, EVEN
WITHOUT THE RH BILL!
•WITH THE RH BILL, THE DECLINE OF
THE FERTILITY RATE WILL
ACCELERATE! Powerpoint Templates Page 67

• According to the UN Population Division,
there are more than 60 countries in the
world who have gone below the 2.1%
fertility rate.
• THEY ARE CONSIDERED DYING
CIVILIZATIONS OR NATIONS. Most of
these countries are Christians.
• Because Moslem countries do not believe
in artificial methods of birth control,
Moslems will VERY SOON
PREDOMINATE many countries of the
world, including former Christian countries.
Page 68

Thus, in fourteen years or so,
the effects of the RH Bill, if it
becomes a law, WILL
BECOME A NATIONAL
SECURITY ISSUE, as it is
now an issue in many
European countries that
adopted RH Bill types of laws.
Page 69

VIII. The RH BILL SETS
THE STAGE FOR
LEGALIZATION OF SAME
SEX MARRIAGE

Page 70

• There is an anti-God spirit
animating the RH Bill.
•
• It shows itself, among others,
in its definition of “Gender
equality” (page 6) which refers to
the “absence of discrimination on
the basis of a person’s sex,
SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND
GENDER IDENTITY …” Page 71

• If the RH Bill becomes law, the LEGAL
FOUNDATION for the recognition of same
sex marriage would have been carefully
laid down by this seemingly short and
innocuous provision of the bill.
• “Sexual orientation” means I can treat
myself as a woman even if I am
biologically a man and if I want to have
sex or be married to a person of the same
sex, I have the right to be protected under
the notion of “GENDER EQUALITY”.
Page 72

• That is why, same-sex marriage
proponents cannot wait for the RH Bill to
be passed formally.
• They already sense a victory in the
observation that even churches and
Christians heartily support the RH Bill.
When the bill becomes law, there is no
more legal obstacle to same-sex civil
unions because gender equality would
have been settled in the passage of the
RH Bill.
Page 73
•

Thus, Christians would have
been caught sleeping upon
the entry of same-sex
marriage legalization by
supporting or not opposing the
passage of the RH bill.

Page 74

IX . The RH BILL IS A NEO-
IMPERIALIST IMPOSITION
ON UNWARY THIRD
WORLD COUNTRIES TO
MAKE
THE WORLD SAFER FOR
THE RICH AND AFFLUENT
Page 75

• This is not a conspiracy theory.
This is an established fact.
• Henry Kissinger gave the United
States Security Council a
Memorandum whereby it was
recommended that the population
of the world should only be 500M,
for humans to live with comfort in
this world.
Page 76

• A population explosion scare was
raised, and the target was naturally
third world countries.
• (This is treated as a matter of fact
even by reports such as the July 04,
2011 book review of Newsweek
Magazine, page 51 on the book
“Unnatural Selection”.)
• That is why, the USAID requires the
passage for the RH Bill as a condition
for release of funds or more funds. 77
Page

X. The RH BILL
ENDANGERS THE HEALTH
OF WOMEN

Page 78

• The ill effects of artificial methods of
birth control on women are well-
documented,
• Including much increased chances of
contracting cancer as a result of the
use of pills,
• As well as mental illnesses resulting
from guilt over the use of drugs or
devices that prevent implantation of
the fertilized egg into the uterus.
Page 79

• Oral Contraceptive Pills (OPCs) have been
classified by the International Agency for
Research on cancer (IARC) as Group1
carcinogens.
• OCP use has been associated with an increase
risk of premenopausal breast cancer in general
( an increment of 19%) and cross various
patterns of OCP use, with the highest risk
observed among those who use OCPs for 4 a
more years before their first pregnancy ( an
increment of 52%), according to a 2006 meta-
analysis of over 34 studies dating back to the
1980s. Page 80

• Corroborating these data was the
landmark 2002 randomized controlled
trial by the Women Health’s Initiative
• Which pointed to a 26% higher risk of
breast cancer for post-menopausal
women who had received hormone
treatment in addition to 41% more risk
of cerebrovascular disease,
• 29% more risk of myocardial
infarction, and 122% more risk of
pulmonary embolism.
Page 81

• Another study by Moreno et al. in the
Lancet also points to an increased
risk of cervical cancer with OCP use.
• And lastly, OCPs have also been
shown to increase the risk of
cardiovascular diseases, especially
venous thrombosis and ischemic
stroke.

Page 82

XI. The RH BILL IS NOT A
PRIORITY IF DISEASES
ARE CONCERNED

Page 83

• If government is truly concerned for the
health and well-being of its people, it
should target the TOP TEN KILLER
DISEASES of the country, which are:
Lower respiratory tract infections, ischaemic
heart disease, tuberculosis, hypertensive
heart disease, perinatal condition,
cerebrovascular disease, violence,
diarrhea disease, diabetes mellitus and
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
(Source: 2006 report of the World Health
Organization on the Philippines.)
Page 84

• As this is the case, why would not the
Philippine government spend millions if not
billions that would address these diseases?
Why spend them on condoms, pills and iud’s?
• Government will spend its scarce resources to
buy contraceptive and not much-need
medicines that could save lives like anti-
diarrhea, anti-biotics, anti-rabies, etc. Our
health centers are in dire need of these basic
medicines.
• If government cannot even provide for the basic
health needs of our people why should they
prioritize making Powerpoint Templates available? 85
contraceptives Page

•
• Why then are emergency obstetric care
(which seem to refer to abortion)
prioritized over preventive pre-natal care?
• There is no mention in the bill about
improving the prenatal services offered by
government health centers.
• Serious and life threatening reproductive
health care conditions will be covered by
PhilHealth but pre-natal care remains
unsupported. The improvement of pre-
natal care services will drastically reduce
maternal emergencies and infant deaths.
Page 86
•

XII. THE BILL THREATENS
OUR MOST
PRECIOUS RESOURCE:
OUR PEOPLE

Page 87

• The Bill aims to limit the family
size of Filipino families to just two
children. (section 20). The
biggest resource of the
Philippines right now is its human
resource.
• Are not our overseas workers the
ones keeping the Philippine
economy afloat and supporting
the different Filipino families left in
the Philippines? Page 88

• Why not spend government
money to give Filipinos good job
opportunities in their own country
rather than spend it on limiting
their chances of escaping poverty
through children they can send
abroad?
Page 89

• Why does the RH Bill go against
the freedom of speech, a principle
of democracy, which Filipinos hold
dear and fought for in the EDSA
revolution?
• A person who goes against the
RH law can be jailed and
imprisoned.
• The RH Bill is anti-people.
Page 90

Part III.
ALTERNATIVES

Page 91

In view of the foregoing very
strong objections to the RH
Bill, what then are the
alternatives? If not the RH
Bill, then what?

The following are proposed:

Page 92

• 1)Government should pass laws or
pursue programs that would equal if
not surpass the breadth and scope of
NON-FORMAL EDUCATION (versus
formal education) for the poorest
sectors of society that would enable
them to get jobs or be entrepreneurs;
• 2)Government should review the
Public Land Act to expedite the
inventory and distribution of idle and
abandoned public lands for relocation
and housing for the poor; Page 93

• 3)72% of the Philippines’s poorest of the
poor belong to the agriculture sector;
government should spend the billions it plans
to spend for RH Bill on the agriculture sector,
to better the lives of farmers and their
families;
• 4)Escalate PPP (public-private-partnership)
for poverty-alleviation, community building,
urban housing and relocation by crediting as
taxes monies spent by private corporations
that build communities and homes and
schools for poor sectors of the Philippines. 94
Page

All these and similar other
measures will go further in
“controlling population
explosion” than giving
condoms and pills to our
people.
Page 95

Part IV.
WHAT IF GOVERNMENT IS
HELL-BENT ON
PASSING THE RH BILL?
Page 96

Those who are interested in
“helping” the RH Bill by
“improving” it or “sanitizing” it
should insist on the following:

Page 97

• 1.Define “life of the unborn at
conception” in the RH Bill
• 2.Include provisions that no
drug, method, or device shall
terminate the life of the unborn
at conception, otherwise, it will
be construed as murder
• 3.Remove “sexual orientation” in
the definition ofTemplates
Powerpoint
“gender equality”
Page 98

• 4)Remove mandatory sexuality
education at grade 5, but rather
integrate human reproduction or sex
education beginning in 2nd or 3rd year
high school subjects of biology, human
anatomy and or personhood, with the
affirmation that sex should be enjoyed
only in the context of marriage.
• 5)Emphasize pre-natal care, funding
and or budgeting. Templates
Powerpoint
Page 99

Considering however that the
chances of the foregoing
proposals being entertained
by the proponents of the Bill
are very, very nil, Christians
may not be able to avoid
seriously pondering their
options in case the Bill in its
present essence or form is
passed into law.
Page 100

Here, the possibility of civil
disobedience (peaceful, not
violent) must be prayerfully
considered, under the biblical
injunction that we must obey
God rather men. (Acts 5:29.)

Page 101

Acts 5:29
29
But Peter and the Apostles,
answering, said, We have to do
the orders of God, not of man.

Page 102

Intercessors for the Philippines - RH Bill Position Paper

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