Catholic leaders battle against free birth control in the Philippines (and these phony 'spiritual' pretenders finally lose in 2015 )
pri.org
Half of all pregnancies in the predominantly Catholic Philippines are unintended, according to a recent study by the Guttmacher Institute, a US-based think tank that promotes
reproductive health. Of those unintended pregnancies, 90 percent are due to a
lack of modern methods of contraception. Unlike in some other developing
nations, the Philippines’ government has not provided free contraception.
In the year 2000, the former mayor of Manila banned the distribution of contraceptives in all city-funded health centers, and the ban lasted for almost a decade. On top of that, the US Agency for International Development phased out family planning services in the country in 2008.
But the unmet need for birth control may become a thing of the past as the Philippines begins to roll out free contraception under its new reproductive health law. The groundbreaking legislation will require government health centers to distribute free contraceptives, including birth control pills and condoms, no matter the beliefs of the politicians in power. The law also aims to educate Filipino youth about family planning by integrating sex education into school curricula.
The path to free family planning services for the poor wasn’t an easy one. Fierce opposition from influential Catholic Church leaders, who have long played a major role in politics, resulted in a bitter 14-year battle in Congress.
Even after lawmakers passed the bill in 2012, church groups filed petitions questioning the measure's constitutionality, sending the debate to the Supreme Court. Last year, the Supreme Court upheld the legislation and the bill became law. |
