Among other provisions, the bill mandates government promotion of "all effective natural and modern methods of family planning that are medically safe and legal.”
While abortion will remain illegal, companies with more than 200 employees will now be required to cover the cost of their female employees' "reproductive health" expenses. The bill also mandates "age appropriate reproductive health and sexuality educations" for grades five through 12. National and local governments will now be responsible for making family planning services, including prenatal care, available to all.
The bill, which was forcefully backed by foreign aid groups such as USAID and the UNFPA, also stipulates that anyone who prohibits or restricts access to these services will be penalized with imprisonment or a fine.
President Benigno Aquino is expected to sign the bill into law as early as Christmas.
"This is terrible news for the Philippines and for the world," said Father Shenan J. Boquet, president of Human Life International. "The wealthy Western elites who find in the children of the developing world only a threat to be eliminated appear to have won their most coveted crown. They used their billions to exploit the famously corrupt political environment of the last pro-life and pro-family nation in Asia."
Several Catholic bishops and many priests of the Philippines have been strong and vocal in their opposition to this destructive bill, and they have welcomed support from other religious groups as well, Father Boquet said.
"We hope that the Catholic Church in the Philippines will redouble her efforts to publicly protect the faithful, and that she will support lay leaders and politicians who will continue the fight on the streets and in the courts. The battle is not over, it is only entering a new stage."
He also said that those Catholic politicians who supported the RH Bill "should know that there are spiritual consequences for doing so."
He concluded by saying that praying and fasting remain the greatest weapons in our arsenal.
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace® http://www.womenofgrace.com
