Why is the Catholic Church against

Reproductive Health Bill or House Bill No. 5043?

(previously known as House Bill 3773)

Introduction
The Catholic Church as we all know has declared that the Reproductive Health Bill 5043
which seeks passage from the House of Congress is an Anti-life Bill. The contents of
the RH bill will tell us the true and real purpose, which is to limit or alienate our
population. In the point of view of the Church, the issue of over-population which is the
primary reason why this bill was made, is nothing else but a LIE.
Poverty in millions of Filipinos is not caused by over-population, but rather we believe it
is caused by corruption. Corruption in our country is found in all levels of our
government. Trillion of pesos have been lost because corruption has sink deep into our
society. Although we can confidently say that only a few (crooked individuals) have
been affected, but millions of our poor brothers and sisters are suffering from this great
sin (stealing). If only we can unite and stop corruption completely in our country I am
sure there will be no poverty in this country of ours.Next, the concept of “free sex” is
being forced into our society. Likewise, introduction of contraceptives to our young
ones is part of the global marketing strategy of giant foreign corporations to unload their
products in the third world countries in exchange for profit. The succeeding pages of
this powerpoint are the reasons and the stands of the Catholic faithful.

Why is the Catholic Church against

Reproductive Health Bill or House Bill No. 5043?
(previously known as House Bill 3773)
1. Reproductive Health – actual definition which the authors of the bill try to deny or
hide includes the following:
a. FREE SEX,
b. USE OF CONTRACEPTIVES,
c. ABORTION, IF CONTRACEPTION FAILS.
The Reproductive Health bill in the House of Representatives is being presented as a
health bill and an antipoverty bill at the same time. It is neither. It is not what its authors
say it is; it is everything they say it is not. It is an ideological attack on human life, the
family, and our social and cultural values.
The bill rests on a flawed premise; it is necessary, unconstitutional, oppressive of
religious belief and destructive of public morals and family values. Its enactment into
law will only deepen the already frightening ignorance about the real issues. It should
be rejected.

II. CONTENT
A. Churches Teachings
 When communicating with fellow Catholics I have become increasingly aware of the
general lack of knowledge, interest and fidelity given to the Church’s stance on moral,
spiritual, and disciplinary teachings.  Indeed, it is all too common to find confusion about
Church teachings even among the ranks of regular mass-attending “cradle
Catholics”.  Many reasons can be given for this widespread confusion and
dissension.  It maybe that catechesis and religious education is poor in many areas, or it
could be that religious interest is at low ebb, or that people falsely believe the second
Vatican Council changed the Church’s teachings. Most likely, the reason behind
growing dissension in the Church is that many Catholics believe the teaching authority
of the Catholic Church is irrelevant in today’s modern world. Irregardless of the reason,
Catholics who fail to understand the Church’s teaching through ignorance need to be
informed.  For this reason I have written this article to set the record straight.  So that no
one may accuse this author of voicing his own personal opinions and politics, I have
provided references to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (abbreviated "CCC" in this
document) and various church documents promulgated by Rome.

B. The Principles( studied in Christian morality)

The basis of all Catholic moral teaching is our belief in the God who created all things
and in Jesus who taught us even better how to live. We believe we are created in God's
image and that we, and all creation, are basically good. Yet we recognize our own
tendencies toward evil, especially in an excess of our desires. The Ten Commandments
are part of the code known to the early Israelites that helped them to live better lives in
relationship with Yahweh. We believe in the same values, with certain changes because
of our knowledge of Jesus Christ.
We believe Jesus, as God become human "God among us," has most truly shown us
how to live. Our moral life is based on trying to live and treat others as Jesus
did. The Bible is the primary source for information on the life of Jesus. In it, we find that
the Reign of God (or Kingdom of God) is the central focus of Jesus' teaching.
Exactly what the Reign of God might mean is not clear. However, we know that it is a
way of living which transforms us when we live it and transforms the world when our
actions are consistent with it. At the core of the teaching are the two commandments:
"Love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole mind, and
with all your strength" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." This implies that a certain
selflessness is an intrinsic part of the Reign of God, where we treat others as though
they were Christ, since we see Christ in them.
Jesus demanded faith of his followers (miracles only happened for people of faith)
and ongoing conversion (repentance), recognizing that we will never do all that we
could. But Jesus challenged all to become his disciples, leaving home and possessions,
and "taking up your cross." Thus, it is not always easy to follow his teachings. The
Catholic Church maintains this ideal, that we all should be trying to live a perfect life.
Since we know that it is not possible, we have sacraments like Reconciliation,
penitential rites at Mass, and one time during the year (Lent) when we try to focus on
our own lives and how we are continually called to be better. We must, as Jesus'
followers, always continue to strive to be better, without focusing on the mistakes of the
past.

The Philippines is in a bad spot. Our population is ballooningat an alarming rate and our
economy, already in shambles,cannot possibly keep up. The situation is snowballing.
Thecountry’s overall health and education is declining rapidly.Families are no longer
able to feed and educate their children,yet they are unable to keep themselves from
procreating. “
The Philippines is really has its population ballooning to 86 264 000a on the latest
census, our country is in a grave threat of having a very low economy and food
shortage and
everything “end time events”. Let’s just focus on the population, Philippines is a small
country yet we rank 12th on the ‘Most Populous Countries in the World’.
It’s not that bad if we formulate a law introducing population control. Good thing is
there are population control act and the reproductive health bill, which tends to control
the
population of the Philippines. It is good for the economy but ethically and intrinsically
wrong
in terms of moral aspects. Reproductive health and services language globally includes
abortion as defined by the United Nations, and agreed to by the Philippine government
in
various.The Catholic Church is too hot against this bill. WHY?
Abortion, of course is wrong, as it is said in the Bible. I, as a born-again Christian also
say that it is really wrong to use abortion just to control my family’s growth.It is wrong
because it constitutes the deliberate killing of an innocent human being. When people
defend
abortion, their arguments should always be evaluated in light of the fact that the unborn
baby
is a human being, a separate individual from its mother. Therefore, deliberately killing it
would be just as wrong as killing any other innocent human being.Does God care for the
unborn?Yes.
Psalm 139 is one of the most beautiful regarding how precious and detailed God's
design is for each of us. Verses 13-16 speak specifically of God designing us both while
unborn as well as before the beginning of the world (when as yet there were no days).
Though not “mandatory and obligatory,” the bill proposes a 2-child policy.
It also proposes the increase of government personnel to service the requirements of
the
proposed legislation. In all these, the Catholic taxpaying persons will be made to fund
programs and projects contrary to their moral and religious convictions and the
teachings of
their Christian faith.
It also encourages the use of oral contraceptives as to prevent ovulation. Recent
studies show that oral contraceptives increase the risk of breast cancer by 44%. What’s
wrong
with other contraceptives?

Religions vary widely in their views of the ethics of birth control. In Christianity, the
Roman Catholic Church accepts only Natural Family Planning,while Protestants
maintain a
wide range of views from allowing none to very lenient. Views in Judaism range from
the
stricter Orthodox sect to the more relaxed Reform sect. In Islam, contraceptives are
allowed if
they do not threaten health or lead to sterility, although their use is discouraged. Hindus
may
use both natural and artificial contraceptives. A common Buddhist view of birth control is
that
preventing conception is ethically acceptable, while intervening after conception has
occurred
or may have occurred is not. If you are going to ask my opinion to this matter, I agree
with
contraception as long as the ovum is not yet fertilized, but if a contraceptive will
intervene on
the pregnancy, it is a no-no.
The bill has clean intentions to eradicate poverty, but, unconsciously, the bill also
withholds the future of the Philippines as a Christian Nation. Maybe not now, but God
only
knows what will happen to the bill, or to the Philippines.
The following pages are excerpts publications which I chose to react to regarding this
bill.
Officials urged: Focus on poverty not RH bill
By Bernadette Parco
Government officials should focus on providing basic services such as food and shelter
for
Filipinos than formulating a family planning program, said a Catholic priest.
“They (legislators) should focus on addressing poverty per se,” said Msgr. Achilles
Dakay,
media liaison officer of the Archdiocese of Cebu yesterday.
Dakay questioned how the family planning program is being used as part of a
development
plan to reduce poverty. “They are following the rationale that development funds can be
used to address poverty.
They believe that if they do not have a family planning program then they will not be
able to
receive funds to finance a development plan,” he said.
Dakay was referring to the Reproductive Health (RH) Care Act of 2008, a bill seeking
toestablish a national policy on reproductive health, responsible parenthood and
populationdevelopment.
III. Conclusion
I suggest that we just have to focus on the poverty, not on the population. You
know, we can’t control population without inducing abortion.We can overcome
poverty without turning our back from the One who created us. We just can’t. I’m
against this bill. FOCUS ON POVERTY or suffer its consequences. ERRADICATE
POVERTY or let it kill us.