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What is your opinion about the practice of family planning? Are you for it or against it?
I am for Family planning. I think it is time for us to abandon the notion that children should come naturally or they are a gift from a higher being. Various researches have already proven that practicing family planning creates healthier and better opportunities not only for the parents but as well as the child.
For example, according to the Department of Health, family planning gives women enough time and opportunity to love and provide attention to their husband and children while at the same time it also enables them to explore and have more time for their personal advancement (i.e., work, habits, interests, etc.). For the children, on the other hand, family planning ensures that the environment where they will be born is prepared to nurture and meet their needs both on the emotional and social, and financial levels.
But more than this, I think the real tipping point of practicing family planning is that it empowers women by giving them a sense of agency and control over their bodies. A study conducted by Alano & Hanson (2018) for example, concluded that contraceptive use gives women a feeling of empowerment as it gives them control over their bodies, reproduction, and fertility. The study further suggests that the control of reproduction and fertility has liberated them from worries and entrapment of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies which can ultimately lead to better and more empowered lives.
In conclusion, as future nurses, our opinions must be based on scientific evidence and research. And if this choice has the capacity to empower women in the longer run, then I don’t think it is something that we must oppose.
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Are you in favor of the Reproductive Health Law and its provisions? Elaborate your answer.
Yes, I am in favor of the Reproductive Health Law and its provisions. Although it was a highly controversial policy that was strongly opposed by the Catholic church in the country, I think we must further analyze the importance of the law and understand its provisions from a scientific perspective that is research-based rather than perceptions based on dogma.
One of the most contentious provisions of the law is the statement “the state likewise guarantees universal access to medically-safe, non-abortifacient, effective, legal, affordable, and quality reproductive health care services, methods, devices, and supplies.” This includes the use of contraceptives which is where the debate begins.
The Catholic Church strongly believes that the creation of life must not be prevented. It also argues that it is not within the right of humans to decide whether a child must be born or not. However, Dean Tony La Vina of the Ateneo School of Government argues that the Reproductive Health Law: “Among others, it is clear that abortifacient methods are prohibited, freedom of conscience is respected, and there is neither a mandate to reduce our population nor a preference for smaller families.” In fact, religious freedom is actually respected in the RH Law. Hospitals, healthcare centers, and doctors or medical professionals who have strong religious and ethical beliefs are not mandated to provide contraceptive measures to patients who seek this type of care, provided that they will make the necessary referrals (Cabral, 2013).
So, on the issue of the intervention and strong opposition of the Catholic church, I think it is already preempted in the law that not all citizens are expected to engage in contraception. What’s important is that we make contraception more accessible to the public, especially to the poor and rural communities, and make sure that they are well informed of proper family planning and its benefits.
Aside from the universal access to medically safe, non-abortifacient, effective, legal, affordable, and quality reproductive health care services, methods, devices, and supplies, the RH law also fosters maternal and child nutrition, prevention of spontaneous abortion and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), reproductive health guidance and counseling to the adolescent and youth, elimination of violence against women, etc., just to name a few.
Indeed the provisions of the RH Law are clearly directed to healthier and more progressive reproductive health in the country. As future nurses, we need to fight for this law and inform the public regarding its goal especially if it can benefit the most vulnerable sector of our population who have always been the victims of poor reproductive health policies and inaccessible health services.
REFERENCES:
Hanson, L. & Alano, A. (2018). Women's perception about contraceptive use benefits towards empowerment: A phenomenological study in Southern Ethiopia. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0203432.
Department of Health. (n.d.). WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF USING FAMILY PLANNING?. https://doh.gov.ph/faqs/What-are-the-benefits-of-using-family-planning#:~:text=Lightens%20the%20burden%20and%20responsibility,time%20for%20treatment%20and%20recovery.
Cabral, E. (2013). Reproductive Health Law in the Philippines. https://www.asean-endocrinejournal.org/index.php/JAFES/article/view/48/471.
PCW.GOV. (2012). Republic Act 10354: The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 201. https://pcw.gov.ph/republic-act-10354/.