Philippine lawmakers on Tuesday opened debate on a reproductive health bill that seeks to improve access to information on contraception but faces strong opposition from the influential Roman Catholic bishops.
The church, a major social and political force in the poor Southeast Asian state, has blocked similar legislative measures since the 1990s and has denounced President Benigno Aquino’s support for contraception.
The Philippines has one of Asia’s fastest-growing populations, which is nearing 100-million people, and slowing the increase is seen as one way of fighting poverty.
“Without a clear policy on reproductive health, government’s anti-poverty strategies will continue to be undermined by a ballooning population as an inordinately huge population growth rate aggravates existing poverty,” congressman Edcel Lagman said.
“The overriding purpose of this provision is to pre-empt the Congress and the Supreme Court from legalising abortion,” Lagman, an opposition lawmaker, said in his sponsorship speech.
Abortion is illegal in the Philippines, and the bill would not change that. The bill does include measures to promote sex education and the use of artificial contraception.
Careful not to offend the church
More than 1 000 women marched outside Congress to mark International Women’s Day and urge support for the bill, saying it would improve maternal health care. The United Nations says on average 11 Filipino women die each day while giving birth.
A survey last November found seven in 10 Filipinos supported a bill that permitted education about contraception.
Despite that, and the support of Aquino and lawmakers from various parties, the opposition of the church means the passage of the bill is far from certain.
Some lawmakers have withdrawn support after talks with Catholic bishops, and Aquino’s cabinet has dropped the bill from its list of priority legislation.
The church has played key role in the overthrow of two presidents in the past 25 years and politicians are careful not to offend it. — Reuters