06 August 2012

The Real Queen Of Facts: RH Bill

"Premarital sex is just an activity." - Ms. RAGRC 2012

What can you say about her opinion regarding Premarital sex? Agree or Disagree?

"As we delay the RH bill, mothers die, abortions happen, teens get pregnant. Intelligent debate, yes. Delaying tactic, no!" - Sen. Pia Cayetano via Twitter

Hello friends! : )

RH Bill is becoming a hot topic again in our country and I know many Filipinos, including me, do not really know or understand what RH Bill is really all about. So I decided to make a blog regarding this topic but I cannot find any reliable sources that will give you a comprehensive information and can make you understand the topic more easily.

While using Twitter, I saw Bianca Gonzalez's Twitter account and the first thing I noticed is her 1.7 million followers! Cool yeah! Well I'm not that surprised that many people are following her because knowing this woman, she is very intelligent and knows what to share/tweet in her Twitter account. So I scrolled down her account and I so this tweet that really caught my attention.....


So at last, I found a comprehensive information regarding RH Bill from a very reliable source, Sen. Pia S. Cayetano. Here's her "Ten Facts about the RH Bill":

Ten Facts about the RH Bill
by Sen. Pia S. Cayetano
FACT 1: RH Bill gives a person freedom to choose what family planning method to use, or NOT to use any method at all.
Once and for all, if you do not want to use any family planning method, if you choose to use an artificial mode of family planning or natural family planning, that choice is yours and yours alone. This is made very clear in the following section of SB 2865.

FACT 2: RH Bill does not legalize abortion. In fact, it explicitly adheres to the penal law on abortion. 
As I repeatedly explained during the debates, the provision below is meant to ensure that every woman, like every Filipino, deserves optimal health care which includes compassionate care.
In fact, during one of our debates on the Senate floor in September last year, Sen. Vicente Sotto III, who is vehemently opposed to the RH bill, conceded and even agreed with my position that women with post-abortion complications seeking emergency attention in any medical facility should not be treated like criminals. Instead, they must be treated humanely and given compassionate medical care, which is precisely what Section 3 (i) calls for. For more details on that discussion, click on link here: RH Bill won’t legalize abortion on my official website.
Sen. Pia Cayetano [explaining Sec.3 (i) and (j) to Sen. Sotto] : ’It shocks me that there are people who believe that women who have gone through an abortion need to be treated like criminals because they have committed an act which is defined as a crime in our country.’
‘…In fact in many hospitals they are treated badly, they are pushed around to the side. In fact, some of them will bleed to death because they will not even be attended to, to punish them for that crime. And I will fight for the right of this woman to have the care that she needs because the emotional, psychological trauma that goes through to have an abortion is something that we, who have not been through an abortion, can never understand and she deserves that from the State.”
Sen. Vicente Sotto III [agreeing with Sen. Pia's remark]: ’Yes, Mr. President, I do agree. As a matter of fact, I will be by the Sponsor’s side in defending that woman.’
Sen. Pia Cayetano : ’Then we have no problem.’
Source: RH plenary debates (September 5, 2011)

FACT 3:  RH Bill does not impose an ideal family size and leaves this decision to couples.
The provisions quoted below is self-explanatory and puts to rest any misconception there may be on this matter.

FACT 4: RH Bill respects the religious convictions and cultural beliefs of all. 
I am aware that certain religious groups are anti-RH. I respect their position. But I cannot adopt their position because it would be depriving other Filipinos who have other views on reproductive health and on the reproductive health care and services that they need and want. As I said in my sponsorship speech, it is my job as a duly elected public official to represent every Filipino, not just one religion. Having said that, I repeatedly clarify that those who do not want to use contraceptives are not being forced to. Each person is at liberty to decide for his or herself.

FACT 5: RH Bill will not teach a 10-year-old how to use condoms. RH education is age- and development- appropriate. 
Time and again, sex education has been taken out of context. As I explained in my sponsorship speech, sex education shall be age-appropriate. It includes a child using the proper name for their body parts. It includes understanding the biological function of their bodies, such that they know that babies grow in mommy’s tummy and do not come out of bamboo trees.

FACT 6: RH Bill promotes BOTH natural & artificial methods.
Again, there is so much disinformation spreading that only artificial family planning shall be promoted under the RH bill. This is false.

FACT 7:  Contraceptives are safe and effective family planning tools 
Anti-RH advocates repeatedly raise the issue on the safety and effectiveness of contraceptives. That is a  valid concern. But like any medicine or medical device, all contraceptives  shall be approved by a government authority, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA). And like medicines, there will be respect for choices. Couples must decide what is best for them with the advice of their health care provider. Clearly, vasectomy or ligation will not work for a young couple who may want to have more children in the future. On the other hand, some women prefer to use the pill or the IUD. These choices are personal ones. Contraceptives is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution.

FACT  8: RH Bill will not indiscriminately distribute condoms to all.
During the Senate RH debates in October last year, Sen. Ralph Recto repeatedly stated that “Parang nagtutulak tayo ng contraceptives!” (It’s like the government will be ‘pushing’ or peddling contraceptives) in connection with the bill’s principle of “universal access” to reproductive health care services (Section 2) and the provision mandating mobile health care services (Section 12).
In response, I explained that reproductive health care is not all about contraceptives, but addresses real and unmet needs of women and families.  The need for a mobile health vehicle in particular is important to reach far-flung areas where health care is inaccessible. These  services may not only save a mother’s life, but will help couples plan the number and spacing of their children. I clarified that minors and the youth also have RH needs, which we should address primarily through age-appropriate RH education and counseling. But we should also not turn a blind eye to the alarming problems of teenage pregnancy (we have the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Southeast Asia) and numerous cases of young children being sexually abused, sometimes by members of their own family. These are real issues which we should not trivialize by irresponsible statements that the government would freely give away contraceptives to the youth under the RH bill.  As I emphasized on the floor, the mobile health care unit is not a ‘contraceptive ice cream truck.’
For more details, see the highlights of floor debates between Sen. Recto and myself , RH debate highlights: October 5, 2011 on my official website.

FACT 9: An average of 11 mothers die daily. That’s a fact.
During the Senate debates, Sen. Sotto kept questioning official figures on our Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR). He claimed that the figure of ’11 mothers dying per day’ had no basis, and was merely being exaggerated in media reports.
“Eh alam naman natin siyempre kung papaano dalhin kasi ng media iyong ’11 mothers die a day.’  Eh, hindi, eh..  This cannot be accurate.. So, may I ask the Committee to furnish the Senate a copy of how this survey was derived at.. If they can furnish us, I will try to urge 13 Senators to vote for this bill tomorrow on third reading…”  - Sen. Vicente Sotto III, Senate RH debates (Aug. 22, 2011)
I explained that the figure is an average generated from data provided by official sources, such as the United Nations (UN), the National Statistics Office (NSO) and the National Statistics and Coordination Board (NCSB). I also provided my colleagues with a copy of how this number was derived, as illustrated on the table below:
  •  Notes: 
  • Column D calculated by dividing Column B by 1000 and multiplying result with Column C.
  • Column F calculated by dividing Column D by 100,000 and multiplying result with Column E. 
So ngayong meron naman  po tayong naibigay na paliwanag, pwede na ba natin asahan si Sen Sotto to call on the majority of senators to act on the RH BILL?
But regardless of whether there’s just one woman or 11 women dying daily, the fact remains that mothers are dying from a highly-preventable cause.  If there were only 10 women or 3 women dying, is that one life not worth saving? Who are we to deprive them of access to information and supplies that can possibly save their lives?

FACT 10: RH Bill will not force anyone to act against their ethical or religious beliefs.
Anti-RH advocates often state that people are being forced to adopt a certain type of family planning method. Or that health care providers will be forced to recommend certain kinds. Fact 1 above already clarifies that each person is free to make their own choice of family planning method. Sec 18 below further provides that a heath care provider can make a conscientious objection.

After reading these facts about RH Bill, I can now say that whatever is my choice, whether it's "Pro-RH Bill" or "Anti-RH Bill", I have the knowledge why I came up with that decision unlike some people out there who is telling to everyone what's his stand and saying much about it but in fact he really doesn't understand a thing about RH Bill. In life, we really have to know first and understand a thing before we come up with a decision or to judge others decision, right? I hope this blog that I shared to you about the facts about RH Bill from Sen. Pia S. Cayetano helped you a lot to understand what RH Bill is really all about.
So are you a Pro-RH Bill or an Anti-RH Bill? Share your thoughts to us! : )
Credits to MyDailyRace.com of Sen. Pia S. Cayetano

So friends, do you think I can be called "The Real Queen Of Facts: RH Bill"??? :D
Thanks for reading.
'Til my next entry.
Much love,
DramaQueenSimon

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