THE SIGNIFICANCE OF RH LAW AND ITS OUTCOME

Submitted by: Jocel Morta

Submitted to: Prof

Introduction
Reproductive health has been defined within the framework of World Health
Organization as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not
merely the absence of reproductive disease or infirmity. Reproductive health
addresses the human sexuality and reproductive processes, functions and system at
all stages of life and implies that people are able to have a responsible, satisfying
and safe sex life and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to
decide if, when and how often to do so. (AbouZahr, n.d)
The International Conference on Population and Development Programme of
Action states that "reproductive health ... implies that people are able to have a
satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to reproduce and the
freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so. Implicit in this last condition are
the right of men and women to be informed and to have access to safe, effective,
affordable and acceptable methods of family planning of their choice, as well as
other methods of their choice for regulation of fertility which are not against the law,
and the right of access to appropriate health care services that will enable women to
go safely through pregnancy and childbirth and provide couples with the best chance
of having a healthy infant....

Reproductive health includes sexual health, the

purpose of which is the enhancement of life and personal relations, and not merely
counselling and care related to reproduction and sexually transmitted diseases."
(Guidelines on Reproductive Health, 2001)
As stated in the Guidelines on Reproductive Health (2001) produced by the
United Nations Population Information Network, reproductive health is such an
important component of general health it is a prerequisite for social, economic and
human development. The highest attainable level of health is not only a fundamental
human right for all, it is also a social and economic imperative because human
energy and creativity are the driving forces of development.

Such energy and

creativity cannot be generated by sick, tired people, and consequently a healthy and
active population becomes a prerequisite of social and economic development.
In the Philippines, Reproductive Health Law aims to integrate a responsible
parenthood and family planning component into all anti-poverty and other
sustainable human development programs of the government and promote peoples
right to health, especially the poor and marginalized. Furthermore, to uphold the

basic right of couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number of
children they may have and the reproductive spacing they will adopt, and to provide
the information, education, and access to medically safe, legal, affordable, effective
and quality reproductive health care services methods, devices, supplies and
relevant information thereon. Finally, to ensure effective partnership among the
national government, local government units (LGUs) and private sector in the design,
implementation, coordination, integration, monitoring and evaluation of peoplecentered programs to enhance quality of life and environmental protection. (The
Reproductive Health Law, 2012)
Discussion
The concept originated during the 1960s, UNFPA established with a mandate
to raise awareness about population problems and to assist developing countries in
addressing them. Concern about growing populations (particularly in the developing
world and among the poor) coincided with the rapid increase in availability of
technologies for reducing fertility the contraceptive pill became available during the
1960s along with the IUD and long acting hormonal methods. In 1972 WHO
established the Special Programme of Research, Development and Research
Training in Human Reproduction (HRP) whose mandate was focused on research
into the development of new and improved methods of fertility regulation and issues
of safety and efficacy of existing methods. Modern contraceptive methods were seen
as reliable, independent of peoples ability to practice restraint, and more effective
than withdrawal, condoms or periodic abstinence. Moreover, they held the promise of
being able to prevent recourse to abortion (generally practiced in dangerous
conditions) or infanticide. (AbouZahr, n.d)
Moreover, population policies became widespread in developing countries
during the 1970s and 1980s and were supported by UN agencies and a variety of
NGOs of which IPPF is perhaps the most well-known. The dominant paradigm
argued that rapid population growth would not only hinder development, but was
itself the cause of poverty and underdevelopment. Almost without exception,
population policies focused on the need to restrain growth; very little was said about
other aspects of population, such as changes in structure or in patterns of migration.
Given their genesis among the social and economic elites, it is perhaps hardly
surprising that the family planning programmes that resulted were based on top-

down hierarchical models and that their success was judged in terms of numeric
goals and targets numbers of family planning acceptors, couple-years of protection,
numbers of tubal ligations performed. Donors, anxious to demonstrate that their aid
money was being well-spent, encouraged such performance evaluation indicators. In
the drive for efficiency and effectiveness, they supported the establishment of freestanding vertical family planning bodies, generally quite separate from other related
government sectors such as health, often, indeed, set up within the office of the
president or the prime minister as a mark of their importance. (AbouZahr, n.d)
An interpretation of international human rights treaties in terms of womens
health in general and reproductive health in particular gradually gained acceptance
during the 1990s. It is during the UN General Assembly in Cairo in which three rights
were identified and addressed. First, the right of couples and individuals to decide
freely and responsibly the number and spacing of children and to have the
information and means to do so. Second, the right to attain the highest standard of
sexual and reproductive health. Third, the right to make decisions free of
discrimination, coercion or violence. These strands became fused in the concept of
reproductive health which was first clearly articulated in the preparations for Cairo
and which has become a central part of the language on population. The new
paradigm reflects a conceptual linking of the discourse on human rights and that on
health. It proposes a radical shift away from technology-based, directive, top-down
approaches to programme planning and implementation. It argues that it is possible
to achieve the stabilization of world population growth while attending to peoples
health needs and respecting their rights in reproduction. It reinforces and gives
legitimacy to the language of health and rights, and validates concerns raised by the
international womens movement and by health professionals who had recognized
the needs of people in sexuality and reproduction beyond fertility regulation.
(AbouZahr, n.d)
In the Philippines, the Reproductive Health Bill which is now known as
Republic Act 10354 or the Responsible and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 an act
which provides for a national policy on responsible parenthood and reproductive
health. (The Reproductive Health Law, 2012)
The law provides the right of health, the rights of women, couples and
families, and the protection of life of the mother and the unborn. The spousal and

parental consent in specific instances although safeguards to protect the individual

rights of mothers or those availing of a service or a procedure. (The Reproductive
Health Law, 2012)
it also provide its beneficiaries, universal access to medically safe, nonabortifacient, effective, legal, affordable and quality reproductive health care
services, methods, devices, supplies which do not prevent the implantation of a
fertilized ovum. (The Reproductive Health Law, 2012)
in the implementing the policy, the state shall promote and provide information
and access, without bias, to all methods of family planning, including effective natural
and modern methods which have been proven medically safe, legal, nonabortifacient, and effective in accordance with scientific and evidence-based medical
research standards. (The Reproductive Health Law, 2012)
The law also provides that the state shall also provide funding support to
promote modern natural methods of family planning. Also, it doesnt not set
demographic or population target and states that the mitigation, promotion and/or
stabilization of the population growth rate is incidental to the advancement of
reproductive health. Religious freedom is actually respected in the law. Hospitals
owned and operated by a religious group do not have to provide services contrary to
its beliefs although these hospitals shall immediately refer the person seeking such
care and services to another health facility, which is conveniently accessible. (The
Reproductive Health Law, 2012)
Finally, the national and local government will be responsible in providing age
and development appropriate reproductive health education to public school
students aged between 10 and 19. (The Reproductive Health Law, 2012)
It took 13 years before the law was lifted to the House of Representatives,
then to the Senate because of the heated debate of those pro and anti RH. The main
argument between RH being pro-life and anti-life.
Those opposed, assert that the Philippines does not have a population
problem and that the focus of public policy should instead be on the corruption
problem. They argue that a large population resulting from rapid population growth
is, in fact, good for the economy. They add that attempts to slow population growth
are ill-advised as they would only hasten the onset of the demographic winter or

the problem of ageing currently experienced by the advanced countries in Europe.

Moreover, the Catholic Church hierarchy and conservative religious groups assert
that the RH law s pro-abortion and is thus anti-life. (Pernia, 2011)
Those in favor of the law cited the conventional argument that slower
population growth facilitates economic growth, poverty reduction, and preservation of
the environment, as clearly shown by the experience of the other East and
Southeast Asian countries. Economic growth is facilitated by higher private and
public savings owing to slower growth of the youth dependents required for
investment in human capital (i.e., spending on education and health per person) and
infrastructure. Slower population growth combined with faster economic growth leads
to significant poverty reduction, human development, and lower inequality. And
slower population growth lessens the stress on the environment. (Pernia, 2011)
Analysis
The passage of RH law is another proof that the government is doing
something to alleviate the condition of its people and the country. The law is
beneficial for the people and for the economic development of our country. The RH
law is meant to address poverty, health, education, human rights and social welfare.
It is still every Filipinos wish and hope that those who pushed for the passing and
success of this bill into a law will able to work hard in implementing the new law and
not to make it as a way of enriching their own pocket.

References
AbouZahr, C. (n.d). Background Paper on Reproductive Health. Geneva:
Department of Reproductive Health and Research, World Health
Organization.
Boncocan, K. (2012, December 28). RH Bill finally signed into law. Retrieved from
Inquirer.net: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/331395/gonzales-aquino-signed-rhbill-into-law
Guidelines on Reproductive Health. (2001, November 9). Retrieved from un.org:
http://www.un.org/popin/unfpa/taskforce/guide/iatfreph.gdl.html
Pernia, E. (2011, September 22). Arguments contra and pro RH bill . Retrieved from
Philstar: http://www.philstar.com/science-and-technology/729220/argumentscontra-and-pro-rh-bill
The Reproductive Health Law. (2012, December 29). Retrieved from Inquirer.net:
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/331639/the-reproductive-health-law