Anti-RH advocate: Self-control, not birth control

Saying that the reproductive health (RH) bill can erode one's dignity as a person, a student of the University of the Philippines said youths need self-control, not birth control. “The youth are in danger of thinking that contraceptives will protect us from different STDs (sexually transmitted diseases), when the only real solution is chastity and self-control," John Juat, a member of the UP Against the RH Bill. “Contraceptives degrade the dignity of a person, making that person a mere object of pleasure and making sex selfish rather than self-giving. Contraceptives will make men predators rather than protectors of women, and women objects rather than persons," Juat said in an article posted on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines news site. Juat said the youth are being led to think that being responsible means using contraceptives. However, he said this goes against the real purposes of sex — intimacy of the couple and openness to life. The RH bill will make it difficult for the youth to differentiate love from lust, he said. Juat added the bill misleads young people into “believing that contraceptives are safe, when there are more than 60 documented side-effects of contraceptives." Money over morality? Juat lamented that lawmakers are sacrificing morality for monetary considerations. He said the Philippines is a nation that is pro-life, pro-family, and pro-God. He said solutions to the country’s problem about poverty lie in proper allocation of funds and in strengthening Filipinos' values, not in limiting the number of Filipinos. “Let us not sacrifice morality for money. Let us instead work on reviving our Filipino values, protecting the family and valuing life," Juat said. "We must be strong in these values…and every law made should be for the common good. As a youth and as a concerned citizen who loves our country dearly, I know that the RH bill will only make our country’s problems worse," he said. - VVP, GMA News