Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Reproductive Health Bill

I was watching Reporters Notebook last night with the issue on population control, poverty and the now controversial RH Bill. Truth is millions of our country men suffer from poverty. Those who suffer most live in crowded shanties in urban areas.

Question: Are they poor because they are jobless and have too many children or they have too many children because they are poor and jobless? Whatever the answer is, too many heads or overpopulation is a primary factor of poverty. Unemployment has lesser to do with it. Assuming both parents have work and being paid minimum wage, can they feed 7 to 10 children and provide for needed education? Even 5 children will be very hard.

And in the news today, El Shaddai leader calls the RH Bill as evil and godless ideology.

“People’s choice must not be legislated. Even God gives man a free choice. But as far as child-bearing is concerned, God has already decreed that we must choose life instead of death. God has decreed that we must increase, not decrease, our numbers as a people.” -- Mike Velarde

With all respect to our church leaders, I think they are close minded and irrational on this issue. They point fingers to the government on the poverty issue and think that God doesn't want artificial contraceptive.

“Religious orthodoxy should not consign women to unrelenting pregnancies and condemn poor families to hunger and penury across generations.”-- Edcel Lagman

TRIVIA: Malaysia has populations of around 28 million. With almost the same land area, Philippines has around 90 million. The big difference? Malaysia is Muslim and we are proud Christian nation.

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