A Look Into the Reproductive Health Bill

Senator Francisco Tatad, in an opinion column, described the Reproductive Health Bill, which has been subject to assiduous and often heated debates in congress, as totally unnecessary, patently unconstitutional, destructive of public morals and family values, and particularly unjust to catholic taxpayers. Unfortunately, this uncompromising position is shared by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and Couples for Christ, which have released their own statements condemning the bill. Unfortunately, they completely disregard the salient features of the proposed bill, shared by hundreds of other countries all over the world and agreed upon in the International United Nations Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, Egypt in 1994.

In the ICPD, 179 countries agreed that population and development are inextricably linked. In brief, the two may be considered indirectly proportional—i.e., a high population rate results in slower development and vice versa. It was likewise agreed that women empowerment and health education including reproductive health are necessary for individual advancement and a balanced life. Thus, the declaration of policies of the law provides that it is “anchored on the rationale that sustainable human development is better assured with a manageable population of healthy, educated, and productive citizens.

One need not resort to statistics to understand the effect of population on individual development. In 2002, the United Nations stated that “family planning and reproductive health are essential to reducing poverty.” It also stated that “family planning could bring more benefits to people at less cost than any other single technology now available to the human race.”

The proposed bill adopts the international definition of reproductive health, that is, state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive system and to its functions and processes. To achieve this, the bill guarantees universal access to medically-safe, legal, affordable and quality reproductive health care services, methods, devices, supplies and relevant information thereon even as it prioritizes the needs of women and children, among other underprivileged sectors.

It recognizes the right to informed choice, which means that the bill guarantees full access to relevant reproductive health information. First, it provides “mandatory, age-appropriate reproductive health education” which emphasizes among others, responsible parenting, proscriptions and hazards of abortion and management of post-abortion complications, and abstinence before marriage. Second, it provides a penalty for health care service providers who fail to provide this information, not being religious conscientious objectors and having failed to immediately refer that person to another health care facility.

It does not, as critics claim, set a prelude to a two-child policy. What it does is to give access to family-planning programs which would enable couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of children. The bill requires the “State to assist couples, families and individuals to achieve their desired family size within the context of responsible parenthood for sustainable development and encourage them to have two children as the ideal family size.” This however is neither mandatory nor compulsory. It merely suggests a global standard.

The bill, at best, embodies fundamental principles recognized in our Constitution—the right to a dignified and healthy life, full access to information, and equal protection before the law. At worst, it only requires fine tuning that can only be addressed by discourse and sobriety.

Open Letter for the Proper Implementation of RA 8504

Grief is never itself a cure. The National Epidemiology Center of the Department of Health reports 52 HIV Ab seropositive cases at the HIV and AIDS Registry in February this year. This is a staggering 126% increase in the number of reported cases compared to the same period last year. From January 1984 to February 2008, there were 3,153 HIV Ab seropositive cases reported, of which 2,366 (75%) were asymptomatic and 787 (25%) were AIDS cases. Of the 787 AIDS cases, 308 had already died at the time of reporting. These are grieving realities that cannot sit in judgment any longer.

With this exacerbating condition, government legislation had taken positive steps to address the problem through the Republic Act No. 8504 or Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998—an act that was seen to develop a compassionate and enabling environment by instituting nationwide HIV/AIDS Information and Educational Programs that shall be carried out in all schools and training centers, workplaces and communities. It stated that Department of Education “shall integrate instruction on the causes, modes of transmission, and ways of preventing HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases in subjects taught in public and private schools at intermediate grades, secondary and tertiary level, including non-formal and indigenous learning systems.” The act had been cited by the UNAIDS as one of the best practices in the national HIV/AIDS prevention strategies. However, progressive and proactive measures do not end in legislation alone. Proper implementation is just as crucial.

In this vein, the University of the Philippines-Diliman University Student Council (UPD-USC) calls the attention of the administrative offices concerned.

To the UP Administration, we demand that such HIV/AIDS Information and Education Programs be explicitly incorporated in the courses, if not in the curricula offered by the university. Recognizing the insufficient or even lack of integration of these programs in the existing courses by which HIV/AIDS education may be relevant, we call for better quality and greater scope of intervention by the UP administration as far as this directive is concerned. This we ask as a minimum compliance to the AIDS law.

To the Department of Education and Commission on Higher Education, we appeal to the very principles, objectives and functions by which these institutions are founded. We call for the strict and precise implementation of the guidelines, procedures and standards prepared and issued by the Philippine National AIDS Council (PNAC), as the body mandated to oversee this integrated and comprehensive approach to HIV/AIDS prevention and control in the Philippines.

USC acknowledges the growing HIV/AIDS problem in the Philippines and we believe that education is an extremely decisive tool in mitigating, if not at all obliterating the problem at its core. We recognize that through education, one is imbued with desirable health values and decision making skills indispensable to AIDS prevention and control. And ultimately through education, one is afforded by the capacity to develop a mature, rational, and responsible disposition on the issue—one basic thing that is given due confidence and conviction by no less than the law of the land.

This statement was prepared by the Gender Committee of the University Student Council.

USC Gender Committee Support Statement for the Victim of Cebu Canister Scandal

The University Student Council (USC) believes that each and every human must be treated equally despite of our differences in gender and sexuality. It is a right of every individual to receive proper and humane services just like anybody else should receive, that is why we, the USC condemn the individuals involved in violating the human rights of the victim in the recent “CEBU CANISTER SCANDAL” that was first seen in YouTube (a program on the net that shows a wide variety of video and movie presentations).

We call for the revocation of the licenses of the professionals involved in the scandal
The USC recognizes the fact that the country nowadays is experiencing many crises ranging from food crisis to manpower crisis, and such includes a crisis in professionals such as medical practitioners and nurses. In spite of this crisis, however, we should firmly abide by the rules and regulations specifically the code of ethics that medical practitioners are following. The medical practitioners working in Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) involved in the said scandal –head surgeon Philips Leo Arias and assistant surgeons Angelo Linawagan and Max Joseph Montecillo–clearly violated what is stipulated on the Code of Ethics of the Medical Profession in the Philippines.

ARTICLE II: Duties of the Physicians to their Patients
Section 6. The medical practitioner should guard as a sacred trust anything that is confidential or private in nature that he may discover or that may be communicated to him in his professional relation with his patients, even after their death. He should never divulge this confidential information, or anything that may reflect upon the moral character of the person involved, except when it is required in the interest of justice, public health, or public safety.

And the registered nurses–nursing attendant Rosemarie Villareal and circulating nurse Carmina Sapio –also violated what is written on the Code of Ethics for Registered Nurses.

ARTICLE II: Registered Nurses and People
Section 4 Ethical Principles
3. Personal information acquired in the process of giving nursing care shall be held in strict confidence

Therefore, we call the attention of the Philippine Regulation Commission (PRC), Department of Health (DoH), Philippine Medical Association (PMA), Philippine Nurses Association (PNA), the office of the Ombudsman, and the administration of the VICENTE SOTTO MEMORIAL MEDICAL CENTER to be very strict in monitoring our medical professionals. These offices and organizations should also censure such practitioners who do acts of violation specifically violating the rights to privacy of their patients. At the maximum, we recommend that the licenses of these professionals involved be taken from them for this misbehavior.

The USC also considers this scandal as a GENDER-BASED issue
Though we strongly disapprove of the statement of Msgr. Archilles Dacay (speaker of the Archdiocese of Cebu) that it is the victim’s homosexual act that led him to be involved in the scandal, we recognize the fact that gender took part in this issue.

Let us manipulate the scenario. What if instead of a gay man, a woman became the victim? Or a straight man perhaps? How would the society react? Will it be the same way as what they reacted with Danilo’s case? This is a clear manifestation of a homophobic society that we have today. It is not true that the Filipinos are now fully accepting the fact that there are homosexuals and that our society today is what we can consider as a tolerant society. In line with this and the upcoming INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA or IDAHO (May 17, 2008), we would like the government to consider including the Philippines as one of the signatory countries in the IDAHO movement together with other 35 countries around the world (2007).

To end, the USC would like to stress that this Cebu surgery scandal or Cebu canister scandal is clearly an issue that concerns violation of human rights and discrimination. It is also a matter of concern in ethical practices of our home-grown medical practitioners. It is therefore a must for the offices and organizations concerned to make sure that appropriate disciplinary actions for these acts be equally punished by what is stipulated in our law and constitution.

Defend our Human Rights.
Uphold our Medical Profession.
Fight Discrimination.