Face the Facts, Pass the RH Bill

I am angry that the so-called “sex education” I was provided with was so incredibly inadequate. I find it hard to believe what I’m about to say, but I know it’s true, because I lived through it.

Nobody told me I had a clitoris.

Nobody told me I was capable of having orgasms.

For five years I was given “sex education”. It mostly consisted of periods and condoms. It didn’t talk about consent. It didn’t talk about the actual mechanics of sex, about arousal and lubrication and oscillation. It didn’t tell me a single thing about relationships and it didn’t tell me I had a clitoris.

What do you say, ladies?

“Citing data showing that contraception lowers unintended pregnancy and abortion rates, the IOM also said birth control can help women better space out their pregnancies, which can have positive health impacts.”

Amnesty International Philippines has weighed in on the debate over the Reproductive Health bill, calling on the Roman Catholic church to reconsider its opposition to the measure.

At the recent launch of its 2011 Human Rights Report here, AIPh said it has agreed, after substantive discussions among its members, to officially support the campaign for the enactment of the RH bill.

“We add the voice of AIPh in the call to pass the RH Bill as a significant step towards ‘choosing life,’ as a step towards the realization of sexual and reproductive rights and maternal health rights. We add the perspective of human rights in this campaign,” AIPh director Aurora Corazon A. Parong said.

Parong cited a report of the Centre for Reproductive Rights in August last year that “found that more than 560,000 women terminated their pregnancies each year and about 1,000 of them died annually after clandestine illegal abortions.”

“We support the RH bill because it emphasizes and reinforces the long-neglected responsibility of the State to provide the citizens, especially the marginalized, their reproductive health needs. For so long, the government has shunned this very important duty to profit-oriented and private health institutions that remain inaccessible to the poor. Furthermore, it has not mustered enough political will and concern for the marginalized women and youths as it remains afraid to challenge some antiquated beliefs of the influential church hierarchy. The failure to institute a reproductive health program at this crucial time would only prolong the agony of the sectors most affected by the crisis in our health system.”

“Mr. President, because of all the misinformation regarding the contents and objectives of the bill, let me start by what this bill is NOT.

1. This is NOT a bill that promotes or legalizes abortion. On the contrary, it is for the protection of the unborn along with its mother.

2. This is NOT a bill that imposes one mode of family planning method on all. Every person will be allowed to choose the method suitable to his needs and based on his religious beliefs.

3. This is NOT a bill that imposes a certain family size.

4. This bill will NOT solve all the problems of our country. Like most of the bills filed in the Senate, it is just one measure that will address a particular problem. In this case, it is the reproductive health of all Filipinos, particularly the women and her child.

5. This is NOT a bill that will teach 9 year olds how to use a condom. Neither does it promote sexual activity among the youth or promote promiscuity among adults.”

Hmm, thoughts?

Last July 11, 2008. The very first Manila family planning fair was held.