The family planning debate

by Nestor C. Punay, MD

While watching the talk shows on ABS-CBN last week, it appeared to me that many people are preoccupied with issues pertaining to women’s reproductive rights, unabated population growth, choice of birth control methods and the sexual practices of Filipinos. I would have let this issue pass until I saw two lady lawyers lobbying for the controversial bill that Senator Biazon filed. President Macapagal-Arroyo’s stand on the birth control issue also encouraged me to write about these issues.

There is no question that the Philippines has a population problem. The million-dollar question is what are we going to do about it. The answer is obvious. We need an effective family planning method to slow down the population growth. The last time I checked, there are several choices available to our families. But, there seems to be a pervasive, myopic point of view of many of our respected leaders and people on this issue that affected the drive to curb our population growth.

Our constitution has mandated the state to provide a comprehensive and accessible healthcare program to every citizen. The constitution also prohibits any discrimination due to religion and beliefs. The separation between the church and state is mandated as well. Thus, the government is expected to develop policies including health programs based on these general principles. The government violates the constitution when it promotes and emphasizes particular programs that are discriminatory to certain groups either because of religious or political beliefs. The government’s promotion of the natural family planning method over the other methods available to our people is a de facto violation of our constitution in this regard. This policy is obviously designed to please the Roman Catholic Church. It is also designed to toe the line and to be consistent with the beliefs of the majority of our officials including the president.

For the president to openly promote natural family planning is unbecoming—to put it mildly. She is the president of all Filipinos regardless of their religious beliefs and social status. Her declaration sends the wrong signal to our people in the front line of our battle to curb our population growth. It also discriminates against our Muslim brothers and the rest of the Christian sects in our country. These people stand to be deprived of the right to choose the appropriate family planning method for them. In short, this pronouncement is a violation of our constitution since it excludes and discriminates some of our citizens.

Many of our leaders, as reflected by the pronouncements of GMA and Mayor Atienza on artificial birth control expressing their opposition to the bill of Senator Biazon, are highly influenced by the Catholic Church . It is okay to have strong personal religious convictions. There is nothing wrong with this. The problem arises when religious convictions are reflected in the programs and policies to govern our people. Besides being discriminatory and exclusionary, using religion to formulate government policies also hinders the solution to critical problems and affects the effective delivery of services.

Our people have the right to choose the best family planning method for them. The government’s role is to ensure these methods are accessible and affordable to everyone. Methods should be promoted equally and offered to everyone. The final choice should be left to the family to make. The main thrust should be to educate the Filipino family regarding these methods. Well-informed and educated couples should be able to make a reasonable decision and a choice that they’d be happy with. In our country, the government is the only institution that has the resources and the capability to mount a massive campaign such as a family planning method drive. It would take a gargantuan effort for all in order for people to understand the gravity of this problem. Without knowledge of this problem, the people will never take heed and pay attention. It is disconcerting to note the absence of signs of the government’s sincerity in solving this problem. So far, I have not heard of a continuous media blitz to hammer in the solution to our collective consciousness.

I hate to think of the consequences of our failure to control our population growth. Already, we are suffering from this. We could suffer more in the future. As I have stated before, one of the keys to our development is an effective population control. If we fail to solve this simpler problem, how could we expect to solve the rest of our monstrous problems? If the government fails to address this issue, it is up to the individual Filipino to take the cudgels up and do the right thing.

So… Go to school. Marry at the right age. Make the right choice. Limit your kids. And live happy.

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