Arroyo's ultra-conservative and retarded policy on family planning

Is Rina Jimenez-David saying na medyo "Talibanic" ang approach ni Ate Glue pagdating sa reproductive and women's rights? ;)

CREATING RIPPLES THROUGH THE reproductive health community, but surprisingly causing no big waves elsewhere, was the speech delivered by President Macapagal-Arroyo at the General Assembly of the United Nations last Sept. 15 as part of a "high-level" summit of world leaders to review the Millennium Development Goals.

The controversy I'm referring to has to do with the portion of the speech on the government's family planning policy, which I'm reprinting below:

"We expect the United Nations to respect the deep Catholicism of the vast majority of the Filipino people. The funding given by the United Nations to our national government for reproductive health shall be dedicated to train married couples in a natural family planning technology which the World Health Organization has found effective compared to artificial contraceptives. The Population Council of New York has found that artificial contraception contributes only 2 percent to the decline of birth rates while the combination of improving the economic condition of the family, urbanization and breastfeeding contributes 98 percent."

The statement is startling, comical and scandalous on many levels--but mainly because it holds up the President, as well as our government, to ridicule on a global level. It's bad enough that the President would deliver a speech, at the UN General Assembly no less, that violates the most basic tenets of human rights and the progress made in re-thinking and responding to the sexual and reproductive health and rights needs of people everywhere. But to be caught lying outright--or making misstatements at best--on such an important occasion where the world's experts on health and population concerns are present? Whoever wrote the speech (and then approved it) must be fired--or made to resign!

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FOR starters, it turns out that the President and/or her speechwriter appear to have misread, if they did not deliberately distort, WHO data on the effectiveness of natural family planning methods compared to other modern contraceptive methods.

Dr. Jean Marc Olive, WHO representative in the Asian region, clarifies that most studies done on the failure rate of various contraceptive methods show that "the failure rate of natural family planning is much higher than other modern contraceptives. Many studies exist and the results are very similar." One such study, published in "Epigee Birth Control Guide" and cited by Olive, shows that NFP methods based on fertility awareness and periodic abstinence have a combined "perfect use failure rate" of 12.5 percent, compared to other modern contraceptives such as oral contraceptives (0.3 percent), injectables (0.3 percent), and the IUD (0.8 percent).

"Perfect use failure rate," by the way, refers to the percentage of pregnancies which occur if the method is used perfectly and consistently.

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AS for the assertion the President made that contraception or family planning using modern methods contributes "only 2 percent" to the decline of birth rates, the Population Council, to which she attributed this "fact," itself clarifies, in a letter to Philippine Ambassador to the UN Lauro Baja, that the "claim rests on a misunderstanding" and that "no study conducted by the Population Council has reached this conclusion."

Population Council president Peter Donaldson writes that "although there is some disagreement among scholars about the contribution of family planning to the decline of fertility, the consensus is that its role is much higher than 2 percent."

There are other disturbing aspects to the President's statement, to my mind. For one, her insistence on dedicating the bulk of funding for reproductive health to "train married couples in a natural family planning technology" violates the right of individuals to information and counseling on all safe and effective methods of family planning so they can make informed and responsible decisions. For another, does this policy mean that NFP training will be given only to married couples? What of single men and women in need of family planning counseling and services?

Does this signal the opening salvo in a concerted attack on our reproductive rights? Well, I have news for you: The battle has long been joined, and the President has shown no qualms about using whatever weapons are at her disposal, including lies and deception.

Napaka-backward naman ang pagiisip nitong si GMA. Gusto nya yatang ibalik tayo sa panahon ng mga Prayle. LOL!