WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE IF THE RH BILL IS RATIFIED?

The controversial House Bill No. 5043, popularly known as the Reproductive Health Bill, is generally anchored on the scope of population control. Superficially, it is geared towards the promotion of positive programs as it aims to guarantee universal access to reproductive health care. Thus, as stated, it is pursuing the upholding of the welfare and development of the population. Generally, its objective appears sound in itself. But the greater question here now is on how will this legislative bill prove its worth as applied in the context of the Philippine society.

If ever the Reproductive Health Bill be ratified, adverse social, political, economic, cultural, and moral impacts are to be expected in the future. I believe that the RH bill will only further lead this country to more problematic and miserable situations. Suppose the RH bill is approved in the Philippines, the following terms will be implemented: a mandatory age-appropriate reproductive health education, a provision making contraceptives as essential medicines, an ideal two-child policy, and penalty or imprisonment to those who refuse and oppose the law.

First, the educational system will be made to adopt compulsory to the changes brought by the law. Elementary students will be encouraged and made exposed to sex education. In effect, this will primarily influence their way of thinking and beliefs; thus, a change in their behavior pertaining that matter on sex will most likely be the observable result among the youth under an RH LAW. Besides, the educational system has its own and multi-faceted shortcomings in itself that needs the attention of the government more than that of adding in it another change in the curriculum by incorporating sex education. I think what needs to be integrated in our curriculum are areas of concern involving the  advancement of scientific as well as moral and social education geared towards inculcating in the hearts and minds of our youth the moral and patriotic values as well as a true sense of vision towards the self, family, country and Church.

Secondly, as made by the law, there will also be easy access for industries offering contraceptive products to liberally promote and advertise in the Philippine market. Because of this, there will be surpluses in such products and thus a boom in this industry will be an imminent  underground agenda as it was also observed in most of the European countries today. This suggests that there will be more of a profiteering than being more concerned of the physical, moral, and social welfare of the people. At that time then, it will perhaps be a situation where contraceptive pills will be made available by the law to different drugstores and worse, among sari-sari stores and the street corners, a phenomenon where the young children of the future are made exposed to such kind of a norm in the society. This is a threatening scenario against the youth; thus, making the youth victims of a society with no moral dignity.  


Furthermore, I doubt that the bill would unchain us from our present economic debacle because I believe the ratification of such a law is anti-development and anti-poor on the view that the order of the society, the family in particular, is at stake. I agree that the RH Bill just proves to implicate that the poor are the reasons of our misery as a country. I take a strong stance against this perception; I believe that the needs of the poor are not properly addressed at the present because there is an unequal distribution of wealth and resources in the current order that is one-sided and favorable only to the greed of the few wealthy class. There is no overpopulation, but there is, indeed, an overpopulation of crocodiles!

Third possibility is that it will only further lead to a chain of social indignation mainly among the youth and the society itself namely: cases of unwanted pregnancy, premarital sex, rape and prostitution which will be attributed to the drastic changes in the behavioral and cultural patterns of an overtly liberal society. This esteem provided by the RH law gives the youth a leeway to be engaged in such activities without worrying the girl will be impregnated. As in the case of Thailand, the making into law of their reproductive health programs resulted into a dramatic increase in HIV cases. The RH bill is also unconstitutional as it proves to be against the primary objective of the state to protect the rights and welfare of the people. As the name RH Bill suggests, it is obviously against the principles of Human Rights (HR). Abortion will also become another issue due to the implementation of an ideal family size. Truly, it is not advocating women rights but is evidently stepping on the dignity of women and overly intervening on the decisions of the family. 


 Obviously, foreign interests and government investment will be the only ones to benefit from the bill. Economic stability will only favor those in the government. Other than that, the economy will experience worse than it is believed to be because of the aging and decreasing demographic profile. This just means that our country will experience a less productive output from its human resources, taking the case of Japan.

In conclusion, if an RH law is made to exist, it will result to the death of Christian moral and family values, human dignity, righteous freedom, culture and a national image so preciously valued in the country. The bill is actually oppressive to our development to a physical, financial and spiritual maturity as persons. On the matter of overpopulation, I say, there is no such thing yet; but rather an illusion to persuade and make us satisfy their greed and abuses in government.

REFERENCES:

Reproductive Health Bill not ‘pro-poor, pro-family,’ says Catholic pro-life group. http://www.cbcpnews.com/?q=node/4371

Church reply to reproductive health bill: facts, fallacies. http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/talkofthetown/view/20080816-155092/Church-reply-to-reproductive-health-bill-facts-fallacies

Ateneo Professors’ Position Paper RH Bill 5043. http://2010presidentiables.wordpress.com/reproductive-health-bill-5043/text-of-ateneo-professors-position-paper-on-rh-bill-5043/

The Negative Impact of RH Bill. http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Negative-impact-of-Reproductive-Health-Bill

Do the right thing: Oppose RH bill. http://www.bworldonline.com/main/content.php?id=22655

When RH bill becomes a law. http://www.philippinestoday.net/index.php?module=article&view=1237

Commentary on the Philippines Reproductive Health Bill. http://www.scribd.com/doc/43029464/Comments-of-Phil-RH-Bill