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Cabinet, bishops to meet on RH again Wednesday


Government officials and Catholic bishops will meet again on Wednesday to discuss the controversial reproductive health (RH) issue, Malacañang said Tuesday. Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said both parties would tackle their respective positions regarding the divisive issue from health and legal perspectives. “[It is] simply a dialogue on what their positions are, where their reservations are coming from, both medical and legal point of view," Lacierda said. To represent the government at the meeting, which will be held at the Pope Pius Center along UN Avenue in Manila, are Lacierda, Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch" Abad, his daughter presidential management staff chief Julia Abad, Health Secretary Enrique Ona, and Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky" Soliman. Lacierda said he did not know who would compose the other delegation. The Catholic Church has opposed the passage of the reproductive health bill currently pending in Congress, saying such law could lead to promiscuity and even encourage abortion. PNoy to skip meeting Lacierda said President Benigno Aquino III will not be present in the meeting because he is scheduled to attend several events in Oriental Mindoro and Occidental Mindoro. In their meeting last month, the government laid out Aquino’s five-point position on reproductive health and responsible parenthood. These are:

  • I am against abortion.
  • I am in favor of giving couples the right to choose how best to manage their families so that in the end, their welfare and that of their children are best served.
  • The State must respect each individual’s right to follow his or her conscience and religions convictions on matters and issues pertaining to the unity of the family and the sacredness of human life from conception to natural death.
  • In a situation where couples, especially the poor and disadvantaged ones, are in no position to make an informed judgment, the state has the responsibility to so provide.
  • In the range of options and information provided to couples, natural family planning and modern methods shall be presented as equally available. Aquino had earlier said the government "is obligated to inform everybody of their responsibility and their choices." "At the end of the day, government might provide assistance to those who are without means if they want to employ a particular method," he said. His statement did not sit well with the Catholic bishops and leaders, who view artificial contraceptives as abortifacients and strongly believe that using such would give way to sexual promiscuity. While it is engaged in talks with bishops on reproductive health, Malacañang has distanced itself on the reproductive health bill, saying the measure’s fate rests solely in the hands of lawmakers. The controversial measure proposes to legislate government support for both natural and artificial birth control methods as part of the government’s "consistent and coherent national population policy." — Jam L. Sisante/KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV
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