STAND UP FOR LIFE!

We, the undersigned students of the University of Asia and the Pacific, in our pursuit of wisdom and in support of sound and time-tested human and social values, recognize the truth that human life begins with fertilization, acknowledge that maternal and natal health are vital concerns, believe that individuals must be educated properly about human sexuality, and assert that poverty is a problem in our society that must be addressed. Therefore, we are taking a stand for the recognition and protection of the dignity of individual human life and for the respect and empowerment of families. In light of proposedlegislations like the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill, we, belonging to the generation who will not only live through, but also pass on to our children what such propositions will leave as a legacy to us, state our position against any law that: 1. Disregards the dignity of the human person at the onset of life We uphold that conception is fertilization.Scientific research and interdisciplinary dialogue have concluded that the result of fertilization, the fertilized ovum,is a whole, separate, unique, living, human being: the unborn child. Thus, contraceptive methods that harm the fertilized ovum such as those that prevent implantation are abortifacients. We also uphold that a contraceptive mentality facilitates the kind of relationships, attitudes, and moral character that lead to abortion. Former abortionists have acknowledged and current population studies on countries that have encouraged contraception through public policy have found evidences that, contrary to what is expected or claimed, provision of contraception leads to higher abortion rates. We oppose any bill that does not protect and sustain life from conception to natural death. We also oppose any form of legislation, which does not give due regard to the dignity of the human person by turning to contraceptive methods as solutions to problems in society. 2. Puts the welfare of women at stake by providing options that harm them We agree that the situation of maternal health in the Philippines is a pressing concern that begs to be addressed and we believe that this can be done by the provision of proper health care, health systems, and health facilities. We oppose any form of legislation, which endangers the health and welfare of women by promoting hormonal and chemical contraceptives that destroy natural balances and cycles in the womans body. 3. Instills a distorted idea of human sexuality and violates the rights of parents We believe that a child's education in human sexuality is primarily the right and duty of the parents who are by nature the first educators of their children. We believe that relegating sex education to and mandating it in the classroom threaten the family by undermining this natural right of parents. Any law that endangers this right and duty of parents violates not only their dignity but of the child as well. We likewise believe that a utilitarian and impersonal education in human sexuality such as the one being offered now by the government, which merely considers the biological aspects of sex and is unmindful of the whole person, creates a mindset that trivializes the dignity of sex and the human being. 4. Looks at the poor as the problem and not at poverty itself. While we acknowledge that poverty is a multi-faceted and pervasive problem, we believe that there is no reason to directly relate population with incidence of poverty. It is not difficult to see the role that corruption, poor health and education services, and lack of infrastructure and opportunities play in increasing the incidence of poverty. We believe that population control programs that especially target the poor, do not address the problem of poverty. Controlling the population does not attack the problem; instead it attacks and offends the victims of the problem. We oppose any bill that attacks the poor instead of attacking poverty. We believe that the right approach to reversing poverty incidence is to find measures to eradicate corruption and establish long-term and sustainable human development. We are awarethat some good principles and sincere intentions underpin the RH Bill.However, while it seeks legitimate and even noble ends, it proposes unacceptable means. The RH Bill, as it is written, appears unmindful ofthe real worth of the human person and the right values from which genuine social stability arise. Even if the RH Bill aims to address real issues, its eventual effect is to establish a culture of lost values, mistaken attitudes, and misled lifestyles wherein one lives for oneselfinstead of the others. In other words, the RH Bill promotes a culture of death. For these reasons, we oppose the RH bill.