2012-08-09 13:50:44

Filippino bishops: Human life is not a disease to be cured


(Vatican Radio) “Reproductive ‘health’, what are we curing? Is life a disease? Reproductive health leads to death and abortion”, says Archbishop Ramon V Arguelles of Lipa in the Philippines. He was among the tens of thousands who marched Sunday against the government approval of the Reproductive Health Bill (RHB). On Monday President Benigno Aquino III ordered an end to parliamentary debate on the controversial bill and for legislators to put it before Congress for a vote. The bill has been under dicussion for a record 14 years.
The RH as it stands would require the distribution of free or low-cost contraceptives, although lawmakers are expected to discuss whether to work abortions and abortifacient drugs into the bill. Schools moreover would be mandated to provide sex-education to children as young as 9 years old.
On Monday the United Nations Population Fund country representative urged the Philippine president to implement the bill quickly. The Philippines is one of the few remaining nations where the protection life is enshrined in the constitution and abortion is illegal.
The Catholic Church in the Philippines has actively opposed the passing of the RH bill. Archbishop Arguelles, was among the tens of thousands gathered over the weekend outside the Marian Shrine dedicated to our Lady of EDSA (Epifanio de los Santos) to protest the government’s attempts to pass the legislation.
Those supporting the legislation in the government are going along the United Nations millennium development goals, Archbishop Arguelles told Vatican Radio, which requires the universal distribution of contraceptives as a “health” service. “That’s why,” the archbishop continued, “we are trying to tell our people – what sickness [are contraceptives] going to cure? Conception is not a sickness. The baby is not a virus.”
There are also concerns that these sexual “health” measures – such as mandatory sex-education in schools and government distribution of contraceptives – could endanger the culture and morality of the Philippine people, and lead to the legalization of abortion. “The Philippines,” Archbishop Arguelles explained, “is one of the last countries that has opposed these ‘death’ policies” – such as divorce, euthanasia, population control, and same-sex unions. And the government, the archbishop pointed out, is already considering the possibility of implementing such policies.
“We believe that as a Catholic country, our people are called to restore humanity, in maybe the rest of the countries... the reason why we oppose this in our country is we hope that the other nations will follow suit.”
Listen to Ann Schneible’s interview with Lipa’s Archbishop Ramon V Arguelles about the RH Bill: RealAudioMP3








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