The RH Bill

Hole of Justice
by Peter G. Jimenea

Why I am for the RH Bill

A group in Facebook named “I Support RH Bill Referendum” requested me if I can repost my previous article in the Daily Guardian about the pending Bill in Congress. The column is not good for the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) but let’s be considerate..


The perceived income of the Catholic Church from birth to death of devotees may have inspired the CBCP to oppose the RH Bill. But the leaders have inadvertently overlooked that Iglesia ni Kristo, one of the Christian Churches with big followers in this country have already expressed support to the Bill.


Christendom doctrine the importance of baptismal after birth, confirmation, first communion, wedding of the grown-ups wanting to have a family, and all should be under the blessings of the Catholic Church. Worse, they told us that even dead members of our family cannot go to heaven without the blessing of a Church - for a fee.


There are no Abu Sayyaf or AFP warriors in this disagreement, only two members of a Catholic family - the rich and the poor. The hypocrite rich-devotees who rule the law and the less-educated poor that when offended, may prefer to settle for money than apology!


Condom and oral contraceptives are already in use prior to the introduction of RH Bill in Congress. On why the CBCP stood up boldly only now opposing the use of these things, they solely knew. But they should know that it is only for them and their hypocrite-group that what they did was good!


They repeatedly sounded the call that life is sacred and shouted a big “NO” to RH Bill. But what about the poor mothers crying on the TV screen begging for help to save their dying kids due to lack of medicines? Where are the hearts of the CBCP members in this regard?


That’s true, more parishioners more collection. But what about the fast growing population of the poor in slum areas and the lack of employment for the jobless majority? The high cost of education and healthcare plus lack of food on the table can drive a father of five in the brink of insanity!


Oral contraceptives and condoms are use not to abort life from a mother's womb but to stop the development of a man and a woman sperm to become a fetus. The stuffs are used to avoid unwanted pregnancy and for responsible parents, to limit the number of children in a family.


It is not abortion as what the CBCP's earlier claim hinted at. There’s no murder here, for how can you kill a lifeless matter? The CBCP nitpicks too much on the State's affair when their backyards are in shambles. Why interfere in government programs for the good of its citizens?


The widening gap of economic disparity between the rich and the poor are getting closer to the pit of poverty. But the CBCP has done nothing laudable to curb the problems. They are already in the pot but jumped into the fire. Just don’t make the people hungry and someday they will run amuck!


What is wrong with RH Bill that it must be stopped? The glitches of the program can be fixed in the course of time. The women who are the most concerned group in this issue should be given the freedom of choice. Why not allow them to decide on matters of their primary concern?


These Church hollies are resorting to argumentum ad populum - to sway popular support rather than facts and reason. Thus, Catholic Church is now fast losing its grip to devotees and counting. They get out to put-up a sect of the same faith but with doctrine far from their old Church’s teachings.


A big population is good for the Church per se, but it does not sit well for women who are the ones risking lives during pregnancy. The international community has a report that one in every three women in Asia dies during pregnancy or in-time of delivery.


Thus, I am supporting the RH Bill for the above reasons. I understand the feelings of all women supporting it. Their unprecedented struggle for the Bill to become a law has finally convinced me that the prize at stake in this battle is worthy of the war they are fighting for!