RH Bill 4244 and The Church

“My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (Jn 10: 27) 

Pastoral Letter explaining the decision of CBCP

to withdraw from talks With Malacañang on HB 4244

My dear people of God,

          As we celebrate this Sunday the Feast of the Good Shepherd, allow me once more to fulfill my obligation as your shepherd in the archdiocese. There remains to be one Good Shepherd, Our Lord Jesus, who urges each of us to conform ourselves with Him, to imitate Him and to follow Him. As your archbishop, it is my duty to help you, in the best of my ability, to make the voice of our Lord clearer and understandable. Only when we are able to listen and follow His voice can we call ourselves His sheep. The Gospel of John echoes perfectly this invitation in the words of Jesus:  “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me” (Jn 10: 14).

          The much debated issue on RH Bill and its new version, House Bill 4244 known as Responsible Parenthood bill continues to scatter the flock, pushing fellow Filipinos to make a stand based on what they hear and watch from the news and what they can gather from highly opinionated information. What confuses people all the more is how our political leaders engage in double talk on what the House Bill 4244 really is intended for and how they would like the people to see it.  Recently, we learned that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) withdrew from the talks arranged by President Aquino. In this context allow me to explain the reasons why the CBCP considered the talk destined to failure. Along the course of identifying the reasons, may we clarify what really the Church stands for; what it sincerely believes and therefore will fight for.

RH Bill: CBCP Statements

CHOOSING LIFE, REJECTING THE RH BILL

(A Pastoral Letter of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines)

Our Filipino Brothers and Sisters:

The State values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for human rights (Art. II, Section 11). 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 (Art. II, Section 12).

Background

We begin by citing the Philippine Constitution. We do so because we intend to write you on the basis of the fundamental ideals and aspirations of the Filipino people and not on the basis of specifically Catholic religious teachings.

RH Bill: Its Socio-Economic Sophisms

The Socio-Economic Sophisms of RH bill 5043

(An Insidious Endangerment of Human Rights)

By Tony F. Roxas

Words are not just tools of ordinary day-to-day communication—they can be powerful weapons of persuasion, especially when packaged neatly and alluringly in well camouflaged sophisms.

This article aims to pinpoint, expose and refute some of those concealed underlying sophisms in the controversial RH Bill 5043.

In doing so, much hope rests on the likelihood that the majority of RH Bill supporters, both in and out of Congress, are only honestly mistaken about the wisdom and necessity of the bill. It is for them and for those who oppose this bill that this paper is primarily intended. As for the minority of RH Bill supporters who persist in their untenable position, it is hoped that there may be some window left for the light of objective truth to enter.

Among the three pillars on which the RH and Sex Education Bills in the Philippines are anchored are the following:

RH education is a human right;

RH education is one way to help alleviate poverty;

RH education gives women the right to exercise their

Freedom of Informed Choice, an important human right.

Let us then deal with them seriatim and start with the first item above.

RH Bill: Fr. Bernas Articles

[Note: All these articles are written by Father Joaquin Bernas, SJ which I arranged in chronological order. Please refer to the original articles in his blog. Thanks. -- joaquin salvador]

A New Chief Justice; An Amended HB 4244

Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ

20 August 2012

The constitutional quality requirements for a Chief Justice are no other than the basic requirements of “competence, integrity, probity, and independence.”  No one can possess all these qualities in a degree higher than all the other nominees.  Not one of the nominees, for instance, can be considered as possessing the highest degree of competence in all fields of law.  The field of law is so broad that necessarily there are varying fields of specialization.  Precisely the Supreme Court is a collegial body in recognition of this fact and in order for it to be able resolve the variety of problems that can be brought before the Court.  In term of competence, it can be assumed that all the nominees have sufficient competence to engage in the give and take debates within the Court.

RH Bill 101: Miriam Santiago at UP

 Reproductive Health Bill: Logic 101

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago

(Speech at the inter-university forum on 15 September 2011 sponsored by the UP Law Center Human Rights Institute at the UP College of Law Malcolm Theatre)

Reproductive Rights as Part of Human Rights

Our topic is the nature of reproductive rights as part of the greater sum of human rights.  In legal terms, human rights form the totality of the freedoms, immunities, and benefits that, according to modern values – specially at an international level – all human beings should be able to claim as a matter of right in the society in which they live.

In international law, the basic document is the non-binding but authoritative Universal Declaration of Human Rights, accompanied by the binding documents known as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.

In national or domestic law, the basic document is the Philippine Constitution, particularly Article 2 on Declaration of State Policies, and Article 3 on the Bill of Rights.  Our Constitution, Art. 2 Sec. 15 specifically provides: “The State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.”  This right to health is now viewed as including the right to reproductive health.

RH Bill: Miriam Santiago Speech

THE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ACT

Part 1:

The primacy of conscience in Catholic theology

Co-sponsorship speech on 1 August 2011

As principal author, I am now tasked to co-sponsor Senate Bill No. 2865, officially titled “An act providing for a national policy on reproductive health and population and development,” also known as the Senate version of the RH bill.  It is the companion bill to House Bill No. 4244, which is undergoing plenary debate in the House of Representatives.

Reproductive health bills have been passed by the majority of Catholic countries, particularly by Catholic developing countries such as Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico.  Other countries include Italy, Poland, Paraguay, Portugal, and Spain. When the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA), now known as the UN Population Fund, profiled 48 Catholic countries, only six countries did not have a reproductive health law.  The Philippines is one of them.

RH Bill: Lagman and His Critics

Reproductive health bill: Facts, fallacies

By Rep. Edcel Lagman

Philippine Daily Inquirer 8/03/2008

THE BILL IS NATIONAL IN SCOPE, COMPREHENSIVE, rights-based and provides adequate funding to the population program. It is a departure from the present setup in which the provision for reproductive health services is devolved to local government units, and consequently, subjected to the varying strategies of local government executives and suffers from a dearth of funding.

The reproductive health (RH) bill promotes information on and access to both natural and modern family planning methods, which are medically safe and legally permissible. It assures an enabling environment where women and couples have the freedom of informed choice on the mode of family planning they want to adopt based on their needs, personal convictions and religious beliefs.

Reproductive Health Bill--Updated Article

Note: This is an updated article on RH Bill from Legalwiki. See also this article from the Wikipedia. -- jsalvador

Reproductive Health Bill

One of the most controversial bills pending in Congress, primarily brought about by the strong and active opposition by the Roman Catholic Church, is the Reproductive Health Bill. This is not the first time that a proposed law on reproductive health has been filed in Congress and the bills were not uniformly referred to as the Reproductive Health Bill or RH Bill, which term is used basically for convenience to refer to bills of similar nature.

Legislative History

As early as the 11th Congress, House Bill No. 8110 was already filed, proposing to establish an integrated population and development policy through a law which is supposed to be known Integrated Population and Development Act of 1999. During the 12th Congress, House Bill No. 4110 was filed, seeking to establish a reproductive health care act, or The Reproductive Health Care Agenda Act of 2001. The following bills were filed during the 13th Congress: Senate Bill No. 1280 (13th Congress), proposing The Reproductive Health Care Act, and House Bill No. 16, or the Reproductive Health Act of 2004 (House Bill). Senate Bill No. 3122 (The Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2009) and House Bill No. 5043 (14th Congress) (Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2008) were filed during the 14th Congress. H.B. 5043 is in substitution to H.B. Nos. 17, 812, 2753 and 3970. None of these bills were passed. 

In the 15th Congress, Senate Bill No. 2378 (15th Congress) was filed in the Senate by Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, while the following bills were filed in the House of Representatives: House Bill No. 96 (15th Congress) by Hon. Edcel C. Lagman, House Bill No. 101 by Hon. Janette Garin, House Bill No. 513 (Hons. Kaka Bag-ao and Walden Bello, Akbayan), House Bill No. 1160 by Hon. Rodolfo G. Biazon, and House Bill No. 3387. (Hons. L.C. Ilagan, E.A. De Jesus, Gabriela Women's Party). These bills were subsequently consolidated and substituted by House Bill 4244 (15th Congress). 

RH Bill 2865

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC

OF THE PHILIPPINES

First Regular Session

SENATE

S. B. No. 2865

(In substitution of SB 2378 and 2768, taking into consideration PSR 238)

Prepared Jointly by the Committees on Health and Demography; Finance; and Youth, Women and Family Relations with Senators Defensor-Santiago, Lacson and (P.) Cayetano as authors

AN ACT

PROVIDING FOR A NATIONAL POLICY ON REPRODUCTIVE

HEALTH AND POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "The Reproductive Health Act of 2011."

SEC. 2. State Policies. - The State recognizes and guarantees the human rights of all persons including their right to equality and non-discrimination of these rights, the right to sustainable human development, the right to health which includes reproductive health, the right to education and information, and the right to choose and make decisions for themselves in accordance with their religious convictions, ethics, cultural beliefs, and the demands of responsible parenthood.

RH Bill 4244

House Bill No. 4244

(In substitution of House Bill Nos. 96, 101, 513, 1160, 1520 & 3387)

Introduced by Honorables Edcel C. Lagman, Janette L. Garin, Kaka J. Bag-ao, Walden Bello, Rodolfo G. Biazon, etc.

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A COMPREHENSIVE POLICY ON RESPONSIBLE PARENTHOOD, REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH, AND POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

SECTION 1. Title. This Act shall be known as the "The Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011."

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. The State recognizes and guarantees the exercise of the universal basic human right to reproductive health by all persons, particularly of parents, couples and women, consistent with their religious convictions, cultural beliefs and the demands of responsible parenthood. Toward this end, there shall be no discrimination against any person on grounds such as sex, age, religion, sexual orientation, disabilities, political affiliation and ethnicity.

Previous RH Bills in House of Reps

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Quezon City, Metro Manila

FOURTEENTH CONGRESS

FIRST REGULAR SESSION

HOUSE BILL NO. 5043

(In substitution to HB Nos. 17, 812, 2753 & 3970)

Introduced by Honorables Edcel C. Lagman, Janette L. Garin, Narciso D. Santiago III, MarkLlandro Mendoza, Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel, Eleandro Jesus F. Madrona

AN ACT

PROVIDING FOR A NATIONAL POLICY ON REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH,

RESPONSIBLE PARENTHOOD AND POPULATION DEVELOPMENT, AND FOR

OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2008“.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. – The State upholds and promotes responsible parenthood, informed choice, birth spacing and respect for life in conformity with internationally recognized human rights standards.

The State shall uphold the right of the people, particularly women and their organizations, to effective and reasonable participation in the formulation and implementation of the declared policy.

Previous RH Bills in the Senate

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC

OF THE PHILIPPINES

First Regular Session

SENATE BILL No. 2378

Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago

AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A NATIONAL POLICY ON REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the The Reproductive Health Act.

SECTION 2. Declaration of Principles. - The State recognizes and guarantees the human rights of all persons including their right to equality and non-discrimination in these rights, the right to sustainable human development, the right to health which includes reproductive health, the right to education and information and the right to choose and make decisions for themselves in accordance with their religious convictions, cultural beliefs, and the demands of responsible parenthood.