The
Philippine Congress passed on Monday a controversial birth control bill that
will make contraceptives available to the poor.
The Philippine Congress passed a
controversial birth control bill on Monday, paving the way for increased access
to sex education and free contraceptives for the poor.
In a country where approximately 80 percent
of its citizens are Catholic, the measure was bitterly opposed by the
influential Roman Catholic Church which had lobbied strongly against its
passage for more than a decade.
The city of Manila – home to the national
headquarters of the Catholic Church – banned contraceptives in government
health centers about a decade ago.
“The passage of the Responsible Parenthood
Bill signals not only a new chapter in our agenda of inclusive growth; it also
begins a process of healing for the wounds that may have been opened by an
often feisty democracy. We are confident that positive, meaningful engagement
between the different branches of government will continue,” said Edwin
Lacierda, a spokesman for President Benigno S. Aquino III, who supported the
measure.
President Aquino in his statement also
thanked Congressman Edcel Lagman who authored the bill more than a decade ago.
The Philippine Senate voted 13 to 8, while
the House of Representatives voted 133 to 79 for the legislature, which is now
headed to Mr. Aquino for his signature.
Once signed into law, the measure would
allocate funds for contraceptives in government health centers and sex
education for primary school children.
At 162 maternal deaths per 100,000 live
births, the Philippine maternal death rate is the highest in the Southeast
Asian region, according to the 2007 UN Development Program (UNDP) Philippines
Mid-Term Progress Report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).
Health officials say the Philippines will
likely miss the 2015 Millennium Development Goal of a maternal mortality ratio
of 52 per 100,000 live births.
In 2005, foreign donors provided US$4.4
million for contraceptives, with the U.S. government contributing most of the
money. But funding for contraception was cut into half in 2011 as donors dealt
with the global economic downturn.
Speaking at the Asia Society in New York last
year, President Aquino discussed how he was handling a trinity of issues back
home: a lack of birth control, persistent poverty, and the collision with
religion in these matters.
On the topic of reproductive health, he said
that the state government must help educate its citizens about responsible
parenting.
“Should I attempt to mimic an ostrich that
buries the head in the sand, when I’ll be asked by God at some point in time,
what did you do to the least of my brethren? Will I be able to say that we
stopped the condition where nobody seems to care enough to educate them and
empower them to effect their own decisions?” he said to approval from the
crowd.
Clarifying that his administration did not
support “population control per se,” Mr. Aquino added:
“We do not subscribe to a policy of limiting
children. We have our own personal religious beliefs but we have to separate
those that are of the state and those that are of the church,” he said.
