Members of the Cebu Provincial Board (PB) need time to digest the pros and cons of the Reproductive Health bill.
Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale said the PB will hold a caucus next week to determine their stand on the bill after listening to two doctors they invited to speak about the bill in yesterday’s session.
Dr. Milagros Chan, a gynecologist, explained why the bill should become law while Dr. Rene Bullecer, a pro-life physician, explained why it should be rejected.
Chan said the anti-RH bill groups do not understand that the bill is for the empowerment of women.
Only two sections in the bill speak of family planning while most sections refer to women’s health, Chan said. She added that people should not impose their beliefs on others and a balanced statement should be made about the side effects of contraception.
Asked by PB Member Sun Shimura about the provision on teaching sex education to grade 5 students, Chan said sex education under the bill will be “age appropriate.”
Bullecer in his presentation titled “Choosing Life, Rejecting the RH Bill” indicated that the bill has been renamed and refiled many times.
Bullecer said in the end the bill will lead to “forcible family planning.”
Asked by PB Member Rimobapil Holganza to what extent pro-life groups will work to stop the implementation of an RH law, Bullecer said they rely on congressmen like Deputy Speaker Pablo Garcia to stop the passage of the bill.
But if it becomes a law, Bullecer said they would seek legal remedies in the Supreme Court.
After the session, Magpale announced that the PB members will be given time to “digest” the discussion.
Copies of the consolidated version of the bill were given to the board members.
PB Member Daan in an interview said he is against the RH bill’s passage into law.
“Whatever is the stand of the Church, that is my stand,” he said.
“I will not go against the Church.”
He said God “miraculously” healed his daughter-in-law who was diagnosed with cancer in her thighs through the intercession of nuns. /Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus