What is your opinion about the practice of family planning? Are you for it or against it?
An easy answer for this question is yes. I truly believe that family planning practice is an essential part of our present healthcare system and continuing to improve it will therefore lead to the betterment of our healthcare services in regards to family medicine and reproductive health.
Family planning ensures access to various contraceptive options and advances several human rights, and brings significant boost to health and other benefits. It also encompasses expanded education opportunities and empowerment for women, and sustainable population growth and economic development for countries (WHO, 2020).
Other than the aforementioned, I find the following as the most important impacts of family planning to a family’s health well-being (TMC, 2020):
- Pregnancy complications can be minimized
- Adolescent pregnancies can be reduced
- Infant mortality rates can be cut down
- Sexually-transmitted infections can be prevented
- People get educated and empowered
There are also non-health benefits as mentioned by the Department of Health (n.d.), like:
- Mother
- Gives enough time and opportunity to love and provide attention to her husband and children
- Gives more time for her family and own personal advancement
- Children
- Will get all the attention, security, love, and care they deserve
- Father
- Lightens the burden and responsibility in supporting his family
- Enables him to give his children their basic needs (food, shelter, education, and better future)
- Gives him time for his family and own personal advancement
Are you in favor of the Reproductive Health Law and its provisions? Elaborate your answer.
I am in favor of the Reproductive Health Law and its provisions. Republic Act 10354 or “The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012” is a law that guarantees the universal access to medically-safe, non-abortifacient, effective, legal, affordable, and quality reproductive health care services, methods, and devices (PCW, n.d.), among its other benefits.
However, there are provisions that are partly in agreement and not in agreement with WHO summary recommendations. According to Melgar, et al. (2018), some of these summary recommendations are nondiscrimination, availability, accessibility, informed decision-making, and privacy. It is possible that some of the recommendations were not addressed and made limited by the provisions due to strong influence of conservative beliefs.
Thus, it is better for the law to be reviewed in order for it to become fully in agreement with the WHO recommendations, so that the law will truly ensure the provision, delivery, and access to reproductive healthcare services.
To conclude, despite some limitations, I am in support of the law since it ensures the safety of women and their families by protecting and fulfilling the women’s reproductive health and rights.
References:
Department of Health. (n.d.). What are the benefits of using family planning? What are the benefits of using family planning? | Department of Health website. Retrieved March 18, 2022, from https://doh.gov.ph/faqs/What-are-the-benefits-of-using-family-planning
The Medical City. (2020, May 4). Importance of Family Planning. The Medical City. Retrieved March 18, 2022, from https://www.themedicalcity.com/news/family-planning-basic-human-right#:~:text=Family%20planning%20helps%20protect%20women,%2C%20infections%2C%20miscarriage%20and%20stillbirth
Melgar, J. L., Melgar, A. R., Festin, M. P., Hoopes, A. J., & Chandra-Mouli, V. (2018). Assessment of Country Policies Affecting Reproductive Health for Adolescents in the Philippines. Reproductive Health, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-018-0638-9
Philippine Commission on Women. (n.d.). Republic Act 10354: The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012. Philippine Commission on Women. Retrieved March 18, 2022, from https://pcw.gov.ph/republic-act-10354/
World Health Organization. (2020, November 9). Family planning/contraception methods. World Health Organization. Retrieved March 18, 2022, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/family-planning-contraception