Lawyer: Poor people should not be prohibited to procreate

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The natural way of controlling the size of the family is through economic progress, an anti-Reproductive Health law lawyer told the Supreme Court Tuesday.

Lawyer Luisito Liban said instead of flooding the country with contraceptives, the government should act on the economic situation of the poor.

“The government should help them become middle class like us so they can have fewer children,” Liban said.

But Associate Justice Bienvenido Reyes said: “Did you look around, nakakaawa eh.”

However, Liban pointed that the fact that some people are poor would not mean they would not be allowed to procreate.

He pointed that poor women are the more exposed to the dangers of the RH Law.

“These people, who live below the poverty threshold, are specifically targeted for population control–their penalty for birthing more children than what Congress feels they deserve,” Liban said.