- What is your opinion about the practice of family planning? Are you for it or against it?
I believe that family planning is essential for couples. I am for it because planning means readiness to the circumstances you expect to happen. In addition, I think that FP provides the couple a way to enjoy their intimate time with each other without having to face the result of conceiving a child. While I believe that sexual intercourse is a pleasure in life that all have a right to experience, there are responsibilities that prospect parents should be aware of and willing to shoulder in raising children in this already cruel world.
FP does not only benefit the couple, but also the children as they didn’t ask to be born in the first place, they would not experience to fend for themselves. This is the reality in our country where poverty is prevailing, children are forced to find means to address their hunger and also their family needs. Instead of this, they are supposed to have a normal life of child- discovering the world, receiving education, and enjoying what life offers them. Ultimately, I am for family planning because I believe that parents should be responsible of the life of their children until the time they are able to provide for their own. Planning the number of children in the family and spacing based on economic concerns, psychological readiness, socio-cultural and health status of the parents will result to a functional family in the society where children will be able to live a normal life and not forced to face the consequences of the unplanned pregnancy of the parents.
- Are you in favor of the Reproductive Health Law and its provisions? Elaborate your answer.
As far as I remember, RH law became a controversy between the government and the church back then. I was an elementary student that time, and I was confused on which side should I support. Being a young girl who was easily influenced, I sided with the church because of the influence of my mother who’s a devout of Catholic beliefs. Another factor that I think influence me to support the stand of the church was media representation. Although my memories of that time were vague, I remember their portrayal of RH law as something that is not applicable for our country in terms of the beliefs of the majority. Now that I grow older and wiser, I much appreciate RH law and its provisions. I believe that it is just right to pass this law because of the high rates of teenage pregnancy in our country and maternal morbidity and mortality. Having a universally accessible safe and quality reproductive healthcare services will lessen the said rates and promote responsible sexual intercourse. Unlike the belief of the church that providing services for reproductive health will result to disrespect of life, I think that RH law paves the way for the promotion of responsibility in procreation. The same as the church, I believe that life is important, but what is the life of a baby born from irresponsible parents that will someday leave them to fend for themselves instead of discovering this world and its wonders? With this, I think that RH law provide the means of the people to be more responsible in terms of sexual intercourse by providing information that will lead to informed choices of methods and devices of contraception.