Rise in teen pregnancies rattles Philippines

[lastlid]

It's really a question of money. You need a lot to run for the house, and really huge amounts (think tens of millions of US$) to run for the Senate, because of the national franchise.

Because the Philippines does not have either political parties or campaign funding legislation as we in present day Britain understand these things, politicians must ask wealthy backers for support - this support is forthcoming on the sort of terms that applied to MPs sitting for rotten boroughs in the British House of Commons before the 1832 Reform Act - "I'll pay for you to get elected so long as you do my bidding once you are elected!"

So the question becomes - "will those who finance election campaigns take the risk of financing politicians who choose to fight the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines?"

I see. Interesting. Thanks.

[CBM]

You may well have read them already, but may I commend to you the Rosales Novels, by Francesco Sionil Jose?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._Sionil_Jos%C3%A9

[lastlid]

You may well have read them already, but may I commend to you the Rosales Novels, by Francesco Sionil Jose?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._Sionil_Jos%C3%A9

Thanks. I am not much of a reader. So I wont get much a chance to read them. I am too lazy... But I am curious. My wife and her family have a close connection with one of the pro RH Bill senators so it will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

[CBM]

At some point, but not, I think, just yet, the CBCP will face the choice between moderating its stance on contraception, abortion and divorce and losing the support of the middle classes, as has happened in so many other Catholic nations.

It may take another thirty million Filipinos before we get there. I hope I am wrong.

[lastlid]

At some point, but not, I think, just yet, the CBCP will face the choice between moderating its stance on contraception, abortion and divorce and losing the support of the middle classes, as has happened in so many other Catholic nations.

It may take another thirty million Filipinos before we get there. I hope I am wrong.

It surely has to happen eventually....

[CBM]

It surely has to happen eventually....

At least - before it is "standing room only" on Luzon and Leyte!

[lastlid]

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago again called for a vote on the Reproductive Health (RH) bill this August to avoid it becoming a geriatric bill.

“We are amenable to any amendment as long as the senators are willing to put the bill to a vote on second reading,” she said.

“Because of the long delay in passing this bill from Congress to Congress, sometimes it no longer looks like an RH bill but a geriatric bill.”

Santiago and Sen. Pia Cayetano have been engaged in a strong lobby for approval of the bill in the Senate since it was taken up in plenary and more so when the period of interpellations was finally closed earlier this month.

With the decision to end the period of interpellation before Congress adjourned sine die last June 8, the two senators are more optimistic than ever that the controversial bill could finally be voted upon in the Senate.

Santiago said that the RH bill is long overdue and cannot be relegated to the archives just like its predecessors just because of the opposition raised by the Catholic Church.

“Reproductive health is the new wave of the future,” she said.

“The critics are flaying a dead horse. To mix metaphors, the critics are missing the boat.”


http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx...bCategoryId=63

[lastlid]

It's really a question of money. You need a lot to run for the house, and really huge amounts (think tens of millions of US$) to run for the Senate, because of the national franchise.

Because the Philippines does not have either political parties or campaign funding legislation as we in present day Britain understand these things, politicians must ask wealthy backers for support - this support is forthcoming on the sort of terms that applied to MPs sitting for rotten boroughs in the British House of Commons before the 1832 Reform Act - "I'll pay for you to get elected so long as you do my bidding once you are elected!"

So the question becomes - "will those who finance election campaigns take the risk of financing politicians who choose to fight the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines?"

Is it possible that some of these aforementioned supporters of the RH Bill are independently wealthy enough not to be concerned about financing?

[CBM]

Yes, and in particular Miriam Defensor-Santiago (I was probably a bit hard on her, but she has been "all over the place" on various issues!) can do as she likes, because she has just been elected to the International Court at the Hague, so she won't be seeking re-election.

Dick Gordon intends to stand; he is solidly pro-RH. That's not the same as getting elected, of course.

[lastlid]

Yes, and in particular Miriam Defensor-Santiago (I was probably a bit hard on her, but she has been "all over the place" on various issues!) can do as she likes, because she has just been elected to the International Court at the Hague, so she won't be seeking re-election.

Dick Gordon intends to stand; he is solidly pro-RH. That's not the same as getting elected, of course.

Yes. I saw that. What a shame.

[CBM]

Looking on the positive side, it may mean that she is motivated to get the RH Bill through, so that she has a legislative achievement to leave as a legacy?

[lastlid]

Looking on the positive side, it may mean that she is motivated to get the RH Bill through, so that she has a legislative achievement to leave as a legacy?

Yes. And as she wouldn't have to worry about the consequences of going against the church then she may well feel she can act with more freedom.

[CBM]

This seems highly pertinent to this thread:

http://givegirlspower.savethechildren.org.uk/

The underlying problem is that men in the Philippines do seem very insecure about granting women real power and the Church aids them in this.

[CBM]

This column by Juan Mercado, in the Inquirer, is sobering:

"A stagnation in death rates for mothers is obscene. There is a critical need for legislation to address structural barriers, Ona added. These include: overhauling of laws on midwifery and other health professions as well as consolidating health systems for local governments. For universal health care, there is need to pass the reproductive health bill.

Local governments are where the action is. LGUs can reach where most victims cluster: remote upland barangays, coastal fishing villages, or city slums. Often ill-fed school dropouts, these women lack access to what is, at best, patchy health services.

“Giving midwives further training in life-saving skills could prevent up to 80 percent of maternal deaths.” These mothers have “no escape routes,” i.e. options that give them “quality information that would enable them to avoid unwanted pregnancies or space pregnancies, and plan families.”

Look a little closer. Only 6 out of 10 Filipino mothers deliver babies with properly trained birth attendants. In contrast, almost 99 percent of births in Thailand have medical personnel present. Out of every 100 Filipino doctors, 68 practice abroad. Over 164,000 nurses left for “those faraway places with strange-sounding names” over the past four decades. “A health care brain drain is strangling [public] hospitals.”

Underground abortionists account for 12 percent of maternal deaths. The University of the Philippines Population Institute estimates that 560,000 abortions are induced yearly. Only 90,000 mothers get postabortion care. In 2008, about half of 3.4 million pregnancies were unintended."

http://opinion.inquirer.net/32143/obscene-death-rattles

[CBM]

"In 2008, about half of 3.4 million pregnancies were unintended"
- according to the University of the Philippines.

Which suggests that the RH Bill if passed would halve the birth rate - which would give the Philippines a hope of getting out of the Slough of Despond.

[lastlid]

"In 2008, about half of 3.4 million pregnancies were unintended"
- according to the University of the Philippines.

Which suggests that the RH Bill if passed would halve the birth rate - which would give the Philippines a hope of getting out of the Slough of Despond.

Exactly.

[CBM]

This should set the cat amongst the pigeons.

Melinda Gates, a practising Catholic and mother of three, sets out to challenge the Bishops in Asia and Africa:

Gates, who was a speaker at the London Summit on Family Planning organised by her foundation in conjunction with the UK government and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said that since she announced her new direction a few weeks ago she had been inundated with messages of support from Catholic women, including nuns.

"A church is made up of its members, and one of the things this campaign might do is help women speak out. I've had thousands of women come on to websites and say" 'I'm a Catholic, but I believe in contraception.' It's going to be women voting with their feet."

Gates said that in the west the bishops said one thing, but ordinary Catholics did another. "In my country 82% of Catholics say contraception is morally acceptable. So let the women in Africa decide. The choice is up to them."

She admitted, though, that she had agonised over whether to speak out in defiance of the church hierarchy. "Of course I wrestled with this. As a Catholic I believe in this religion, there are amazing things about this religion, amazing moral teachings that I do believe in, but I also have to think about how we keep women alive. I believe in not letting women die, I believe in not letting babies die, and to me that's more important than arguing about what method of contraception [is right]."

Being a woman and a mother were at the heart of her decision to focus on family planning, said Gates, who has three children aged 16, 13 and 10. "It would have been nice to stay as a private citizen but part of the reason why I'm so public is that it does take a woman to speak out about these issues.





http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...-contraception

[lastlid]

This should set the cat amongst the pigeons.

Melinda Gates, a practising Catholic and mother of three, sets out to challenge the Bishops in Asia and Africa:

Gates, who was a speaker at the London Summit on Family Planning organised by her foundation in conjunction with the UK government and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said that since she announced her new direction a few weeks ago she had been inundated with messages of support from Catholic women, including nuns.

"A church is made up of its members, and one of the things this campaign might do is help women speak out. I've had thousands of women come on to websites and say" 'I'm a Catholic, but I believe in contraception.' It's going to be women voting with their feet."

Gates said that in the west the bishops said one thing, but ordinary Catholics did another. "In my country 82% of Catholics say contraception is morally acceptable. So let the women in Africa decide. The choice is up to them."

She admitted, though, that she had agonised over whether to speak out in defiance of the church hierarchy. "Of course I wrestled with this. As a Catholic I believe in this religion, there are amazing things about this religion, amazing moral teachings that I do believe in, but I also have to think about how we keep women alive. I believe in not letting women die, I believe in not letting babies die, and to me that's more important than arguing about what method of contraception [is right]."

Being a woman and a mother were at the heart of her decision to focus on family planning, said Gates, who has three children aged 16, 13 and 10. "It would have been nice to stay as a private citizen but part of the reason why I'm so public is that it does take a woman to speak out about these issues.





http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012...-contraception

Good post.

[CBM]

another brick in the wall..

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/227241/...ss-the-rh-bill

[Doc Alan]

• At least the London Summit on Family Planning is renewing attention and hopefully global commitment to family planning and access to contraceptives, underwritten by the financial power of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Philippines is one of the countries which had a delegation at the Summit. All we as forum members can do is watch and wait – well done Lastlid and CBM for raising the topic, also Terpe, Graham, Arthur, Jamesey, and Sars_notd_virus for contributing ! As far as I’m aware it has not been discussed previously here.
• My separate thread on Mums and kids (http://filipinaroses.com/showthread....ippines-and-UK ) hopefully complements this, and reminds interested members that there are other factors in improving their health – I’ve tried to keep it free of politics and religion as that’s beyond my expertise.