Doctors' group backs up Catholic Church on RH issue

The country's biggest group of doctors, the Philippine Medical Association (PMA), is throwing its support behind Catholic Church officials in supporting the proposed alternative to the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill pending in Congress. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said the PMA shares its view on the issue about the "beginning of life" — at the moment of fertilization. According to the CBCP news site, a consultative meeting on the RH bill was held on Monday between the CBCP and the PMA in Quezon City. Dr. Arthur Catli, PMA executive director, said the preliminary talks were “very cordial" because both parties agreed on several issues, especially on when life begins. Catli said the PMA's specialty society, the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society, represented by its president Dr. Sylvia Carnero, stated that “life begins at fertilization." “The PMA is against abortion and so is the CBCP. We doctors took an oath to save and protect human life and that definitely includes the unborn child. No doubt the CBCP supports our stand on this," Catli added. “What is clear now is that the PMA as an institution have that common agreement with the CBCP that, from their expertise as medical practitioners, human life begins at the stage of fertilization," CBCP secretary general Msgr. Juanito Figura said in an article posted on the CBCP news site. Figura added this is contrary to what the reproductive health bill claims — that life begins at "implantation." According to MedicineNet.org, implantation means "the attachment of the fertilized egg to the uterine lining, which occurs approximately 6 or 7 days after conception (fertilization)." On the other hand, MedicineNet.org describes fertilization as the process of combining the male gamete, or "sperm," with the female gamete, or "ovum." The product of this combination is a cell called a zygote. “Contrary to what the RH bill advocates are saying that life begins at implantation, the doctors are saying otherwise," Figura said. “This is a very important thing." The CBCP quoted PMA media affairs chairman Dr. Mike Aragon as saying they are supporting House Bill (HB) 13 by Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez. Aragon said the the PMA is supporting Golez's bill, titled “An Act Providing for the Safety and Protection of the Unborn & for Other Purposes," because of its “clear provisions" on being “prolife." Aragon explained that the PMA does not directly reject the RH bill because it also has some good points. However, Aragon said they are one with the church and pro-life groups in pushing for the passage of the HB 13, the CBCP article said. “We are for the protection of life especially of the unborn. It’s very clear that the bill seeks to protect the unborn," said Aragon. Meanwhile, PMA president Dr. Oscar Tinio said their organization would voluntarily offer its scientific and medical expertise on the reproductive health issue to both the government and the Church. “Medical doctors are major stakeholders and front liners in the reproductive health and wellness of our nation and we should be involved in any discussions concerning the issue," Tinio said. CBCP not totally vs RH bill The CBCP earlier clarified it is not totally against the RH bill but only on certain provisions, Figura said, “which when seen from the moral point of view are not in agreement with the Catholic teachings." Large-scale public funding for artificial contraceptives such as condoms and pills is included in the proposed measure. Almost all versions of the bill classify contraceptives including intrauterine devices and injectables as essential medicines where billions of pesos of public funds will be used for its purchase, the CBCP claimed. The CBCP also claimed advocates of the RH bill disagree that artificial birth control is a form of abortion, which the Constitution disallows. Figura said PMA’s position on the beginning of life could definitely boost the church’s campaign against contraception and abortion. He added both parties agreed that life should be protected from the moment of fertilization up to its natural death “because the doctors are committed to save lives." CBCP President Bishop Nereo Odchimar earlier said they will consult legal and medical experts to help them prepare for a dialogue with Malacañang on controversial issues that surround government efforts to shape a reproductive health policy. RH Bill 96 There are several reproductive health bills in Congress today. One of the most prominent bills is Minority Leader Edcel Lagman’s House Bill 96 or An Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Population and Development. The bill states that the government should provide accessible, affordable and effective reproductive health care services. The bill adds that the government should promote all modern natural and artificial methods of family planning that are medically, safe, legal and effective without bias. RH bill advocates, including Lagman, have repeatedly argued that the RH is measure is not for abortion. Contentious issue The RH bill has been a contentious issue in the country because it pits two powerful sectors against each other: prolife groups (such as Catholic and Muslim groups opposing the RH bill) and prochoice groups (led by non-government organizations supporting the RH bill). It is estimated that 80 percent of the country's population are baptized Catholics. According to the National Statistics Office, there were 88.57 million Filipinos as of August 2007. The projected population for 2010 is 94.01 million. The Catholic Church promotes only natural family planning and is opposed to the use of artificial birth control methods such as condoms and birth-control pills, saying these could lead to promiscuity and a rise in abortion cases. However, RH advocates say natural family planning methods have not proven to be as reliable as artificial means of birth control. The Catholic Church accepts only natural family planning (NFP) methods. The NFP has two distinct forms: Ecological breastfeeding (a form of child care that normally spaces babies about two years apart on the average) Systematic NFP (a system that uses a woman’s signs of fertility to determine the fertile and infertile times of her cycle) – VVP, GMANews.TV