POSTION PAPER

THE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH BILL

THESIS STATEMENT: The Reproductive Health Bill must be passed

I. INTRODUCTION

A. BACKGROUND
The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 (Republic Act No.
10354), informally known as the Reproductive Health Law or RH BILL, is a law in the
Philippines which makes the contraception, sex education, maternal care and fertility
control accessible to all.

While there is general agreement about its provisions on maternal and child health,
there is great debate on its mandate that the Philippine government and the private
sector will fund and undertake widespread distribution of family planning devices such
as condoms, birth control pills, and IUDs, as the government continues to disseminate
information on their use through all health care centers.

Passage of the legislation was controversial and highly divisive, with experts,
academics, religious institutions, and major political figures declaring their support or
opposition while it was pending in the legislature. Heated debates and rallies both
supporting and opposing the RH Bill took place nationwide.

The Supreme Court delayed implementation of the law in March 2013 in response to
challenges. On April 3,2014, the Court ruled that the law was "not unconstitutional"
but struck down eight provisions partially or in full.

B. WHAT IS THE RH BILL?

The bill mandates the government to "promote, without biases, all effective
natural and modern methods of family planning that are medically safe and
legal."

The bill calls for a "multi-dimensional approach" integrates a component of

family planning and responsible parenthood into all government anti-poverty
programs. Age-appropriate reproductive health and sexuality education is
required from grade five to fourth year high school using "life-skills and other
approaches.

The bill also mandates the Department of Labor and Employment to guarantee
the reproductive health rights of its female employees. Companies with fewer
 than 200 workers are required to enter into partnership with health care
providers in their area for the delivery of reproductive health services.

Employers with more than 200 employees shall provide reproductive health
services to all employees in their own respective health facilities. Those with
fewer than 200 workers shall enter into partnerships with health professionals
for the delivery of reproductive health services. Employers shall inform
employees of the availability of family planning. They are also obliged to
monitor pregnant working employees among their workforce and ensure they
are provided paid half-day prenatal medical leaves for each month of the
pregnancy period that they are employed.

The national government and local governments will ensure the availability of
reproductive health care services like family planning and prenatal care.

Any person or public official who prohibits or restricts the delivery of legal and
medically safe reproductive health care services will be punished by law. Either
they fine or imprisonment.

II. ON FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAM

Pro
1. Many couples will have the time to plan their family thus making them
more prepared mentally, physically and financially to support the family
they had in their mind.
2. Many problems will be avoided in the future because couples who
undergoes family planning becomes aware of the responsibility that
comes from having a family
Cons
1. It needs support from the government for it to becomes accessible to all
people.

III. CONTRACEPTIVES
Pro
1. The Rh bill promotes the contraceptives as their way of controlling the
population growth throughout the nation.
2. The Rh bill does not legalize the abortion, making sure that everything
they promote is safe to use.
3. The Rh bill does not prohibit the pregnancy as long as they are mentally,
physically, financially capable of raising a child, if not they promote
safe sex like using condoms etc.
 Con
1. The Religious group does not approve the government to promote the
use of contraceptives because they think that it promotes the pre-marital
sex for the teens of this generation.

IV. On Sex Education

Pro
1. The RH Bill adds Sex education in the curriculum making it another
subject for students to learn
2. The students become more aware about reproductive health making
them more knowledgeable about sex.
Con
1. The Sex education is a taboo to talk especially in our culture which are
influences by religion making the passing of Rh bill impossible.

V. Conclusion

1. The Rh Bill is the answer to stop the uncontrollable population growth

of the nation.
2. The bill is, in fact, pro-life, pro-women, and propoor.
3. The reproductive health (RH) bill promotes information on and access
to both natural and modern family planning methods, which are
medically safe and legally permissible.
4. The nation is not ready to accept the policy of Rh bill because of its
culture.

The Reproductive Health Bill

Many laws have been filed in both congress and senate, one of this is law about Reproductive
Health which also called Rh bill. This caused different opinions among people if they want it to
become an official law. Many people may say that this Rh bill is not the answer to control the
swelling population of the nation but for me, it is the Ideal way to educate people and control the
population of the Philippines. According to Gabe L. Sex education is important. It's been proven
time and time again. We know students who receive formal sex education in schools are shown
to first have sexual intercourse later than students who have not had sex education. Sex education
does not encourage teenagers to have sex, it does quite the opposite. Thus making every teenager
more knowledgeable about reproductive health.
I cannot see why it they didnt passed the Rh law in fact, many countries already have it as their
law including Thailand, India, Poland and other countries. It is helpful also because The RH Bill
also promotes timed pregnancy which will ensure that children will be blessings for their parents
since their births are planned and wanted (Lagman, 2008). TheFilipino woman's desired number
of children is 2.5. However, the actual fertility rate is 3.5children or a difference of one child. This
difference is due mainly to the lack of information on and access to family planning services (NSO,
NDHS 2003). Maternal deaths account for 14% of deaths among women. According to the
Commission on Population, ten (10) women die every24 hours from pregnancy or childbirth-
related complications (Popcorn 2000). It posits a bigger possibility that the children will be well-
taken care of and be brought up properly, send to a good school, and enjoy their rights. With that
as well, there will be fewer instances of abortion since pregnancies will be according to the
preference and want of the couple. It must be noted however, that the bill does not impose a two-
child policy.

think everyone will agree with me that both sides have their own share of rights and
wrongs. It is nice to see as well that people are truly engage with this which only goes to show that
as citizens of this country, we are all concern for what is best for it. But then, I believe that what
is best is for our lawmakers to pass the RH Bill which is long overdue. The bill is, in fact, pro-
life, pro-women, and pro-poor (Lagman, 2008). It promotes quality not only for the parents
but also especially to the future generation of our country. It also protects womens rights and the
health projects will surely benefit the underprivileged. The bill is national in scope,
comprehensive, rights-based and provides adequate funding to the population program. It
promotes information on and access to both natural and modern family planning methods, which
are medically safe and legally permissible. The bill will promote sustainable human development.
The UN stated in 2002 that family planning and reproductive health are essential to reducing
poverty. The Unicef also asserts that family planning could bring more benefits to more people
at less cost than any other single technology now available to the human race (Lagman, 2008).

References:
G. L. (n.d.). Why Sex Education Is Important. Retrieved from https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/all-
the-pro-life-facts-about-hormonal-contraception-that-you-probably-dont
Tatad, F. (2008). No place for the RH bill in our law.Philippine Daily Inquirer .Retrieved
fromhttp://services.inquirer.net/print/print.php?article_id=20080816-155092
Reproductive health. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reproductive_health
Imbong, Jo. (2008). Reckless and irresponsible.
Philippine Daily Inquirer . Retrieved fromhttp://services.inquirer.net/print/print.php?article_id=20080816-
155092