The Reproductive Health Bill

As we speak, a controversial bill is pending at the House of representatives of the Philippines. The Reproductive Health and Population Development Act aims - among other things - to enhance people's knowledge on family planning methods. The act has become the object of controversy because it suggests contraception as one way for families to limit the number of children they bring into this world. The Philippines have a rapidly growing population and many families have more children than they can feed and send to school. Birth control is badly needed, but for conservative voices in the country - and there are quite a few, believe me -, use of contraception is a bridge too far. It will probably not surpsrise you that the good old catholic church is up in arms and out on crusade against artificial contraception. Don't get me wrong, I think the church has a right to voice its opinion on the matter, but nothing justifies the way it condems and judges people who choose to use contraception and how it bashes the bill for spreading information about it. The following is an excerpt from an interview with archbishop Oscar Cruz for The Inquirer :

In the Roman times, wealthy families were known for their love of feasting, eating, drinking and merrymaking. In their houses, there was a thing called vomitorium. The practice was that when they were filled up, they would go to the vomitorium and tickle their throat to vomit what they had eaten or drunk. So they were hungry again and would eat again. Artificial contraception is like that - couples have sex, put it in, spit it out, have sex again.


This excerpt is - in my opinion - sadly ironic. The lust our respected archbishop is condemning, is no one else's but his own. I suggest he seek a psychiatrist to come to terms with his own lust before he condems others for theirs. What bothers me most is not so much the fact that he opposes contraception - everyone is entitled to his opinion -, but he has no right to condemn others. His words are, to say the least, not very christian. Judge not lest ye be judged... The Reproductive Health Bill does not promote sex for pleasure, it simply states the responsibility to inform people about the option of artificial birth control and facilitate their access to anticonception.